The Tales of Eugene Fitzherbert: Orphan Hero
by Miss Quartermain
Summary: Before there was Flynn Rider, most wanted thief, there was Eugene Fitzherbert, unwanted orphan.  This is the story of how the little orphan boy became the famous thief.  Mentions of Flynn/Rapunzel, Flynn/OC, and OC/OC pairings.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Prologue

"_Eugene_?"

_Looking up from his book_—_yes_, _he was just as surprised about the fact that he was _reading_ as anyone else would be_—_Eugene_ _smiled fondly up at Rapunzel as she moved to sit down on the arm of his chair_.

"_You promised to tell me about your childhood someday_…" _she said slowly_, _almost shyly_. "_I thought…this is someday…_"

_Sighing a little_, _he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down onto his lap_. "_I guess I did make a promise_," _he mused_. "_Well…it all began on the night of a big storm_, _twenty_-_seven years ago…almost to the day…_"

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The room was filled with the cries of a young woman giving birth, and Mrs. Agnes Miller was at her wits end trying to get this remarkably stubborn baby out of the womb and into the wide world. Her dark, graying hair hung limp around her face as the middle-aged woman bent down over the poor girl.

"Just a little longer," Mrs. Miller urged her. "You can do this, pet. You just have to keep pushing."

"I can't…I can't!" the girl sobbed, gripping Mrs. Miller's hand tightly. "I'm so tired…I can't do it."

"You have to!"

With Mrs. Miller urging her on, the girl sat up slightly and screamed in mingled frustration and pain as she continued to push, trying to safely bring her baby into the world. Beside the girl, Mrs. Miller held her hand tightly and continued to encourage her.

"Not long now! Not long now!"

But the girl didn't seem to hear Mrs. Miller, as she simply continued screaming in pain. Finally…after what felt like an agonizing eternity, the sound of a baby's shrill screams filled the air. The young mother collapsed against her pillows as Mrs. Miller walked over to where the young midwife's assistant was holding the newborn baby. It was a boy, and a very healthy one at that judging by his loud shrieks. Taking the tiny boy in her arms, Mrs. Miller rocked him gently as she moved to show the baby to his mother. Unfortunately, the girl was too tired to reach up for her baby, let alone hold him. All she could manage was a weak smile as she watched Mrs. Miller and her tiny son.

"He's beautiful," the young mother whispered in a raspy voice.

"Yes, he is, pet," Mrs. Miller agreed. "The most beautiful baby I ever saw." Handing the baby back to the midwife's assistant, Mrs. Miller turned her attention back to the new mother. "How are you feeling?"

The girl didn't answer. As she stared down at the poor young face, Mrs. Miller was sure that she couldn't speak, even if she wanted to. Reaching down to gently brush the girl's deep brown hair away from her sweaty forehead, the older woman glanced over at the midwife, who was shaking her head and frowning, which was never a good sign. Blind panic clutched at Mrs. Miller's windpipe as she and the midwife looked at one another. Once more, the old midwife shook her head.

Now the panic was replaced by disbelief and anguish. Turning to look down at the young woman again, Mrs. Miller clutched the girl's hands in hers and felt hot tears burning her eyes. "Edith?" she called softly. "Edith…can you hear me?"

The girl's eyes—dark brown, just like her hair—opened slightly as she met Mrs. Miller's gaze. "I'm not going to make it. Am I?" she asked matter-of-factly.

Against her will, Mrs. Miller found herself sobbing as she shook her head.

Edith simply looked away again. "Take care of him for me…my precious boy," she whispered, her voice trailing off weakly.

Mrs. Miller couldn't bring herself to answer as she held Edith's hands tightly in hers. She was almost certain that she could feel the life leaving those delicate hands, but such an idea was preposterous, of course. Still…when she looked up again, Mrs. Miller saw that Edith had passed on and was no longer with them. Sobbing loudly, the poor woman gathered the body of the young woman in her arms and held her for a moment before the midwife pulled her away.

"The child needs you right now, Agnes," the midwife said firmly. "Go see to him."

Unwillingly, Mrs. Miller made her way down to the kitchen, where the midwife's assistant was bathing the still-squalling infant. Now that the child was clean, Mrs. Miller saw that he had a shock of dark hair, much like his mothers, but that nose…that nose belonged to the baby's father. White-hot anger flooded Agnes Miller as she thought of the man who had fathered this child, and she almost couldn't bring herself to draw closer to the baby. But Edith's last request was still fresh in her mind.

_Take care of him for me_.

Agnes Miller had never broken faith with anyone before, and she certainly wasn't going to start with going against young Edith's dying wish. She would care for the boy, just as she cared for all the other orphans in her home. Walking over to stand beside the girl bathing the baby, Mrs. Miller sighed heavily.

"He's a healthy lad," the girl—Mrs. Miller believed her name was Hannah—commented with a smile. "And he'll grow up to be quite handsome, too."

"Yes…like his father." Mrs. Miller couldn't hide the venom in her voice as she said this, and Hannah stared up at her in shock. But she offered no explanation, and so Hannah did not press for answers. Taking the baby from Hannah, Mrs. Miller smiled down at the baby. "A fine lad, indeed," she murmured. "You go on home, lass," she added with a sad sigh. "Nothing more to be done here that can be done without an undertaker."

Hannah's blue eyes widened in shock before tears began to roll down her round cheeks as she hastily gathered up her things and went to find her mentor, leaving Mrs. Miller alone in the kitchen with the baby. He had stopped screaming by now, but every now and then he gave a little whimper of hunger. With no mother to nurse him, the poor babe was no doubt starving. Thank heaven little Lydia Kemp down the road had just given birth. Mrs. Miller quickly sent one of the older boys to fetch Mrs. Kemp and sat in her old rocking chair, doing her best to soothe the hungry baby as she waited.

Lydia Kemp was a pretty, fresh young woman of about nineteen, with brilliant red hair and deep brown eyes. She entered the kitchen with a flourish, her newborn baby girl held in her arms as she walked over to where Mrs. Miller sat.

"I just heard about Edith," she said after greeting Mrs. Miller. "I am so sorry. I'll be glad to nurse the little boy for you. Hear," she added, holding out her own child. "You take Mary and I'll feed him for you." After a moment of cautious juggling of babies, Lydia sat in the other rocking chair, holding the tiny boy to her breast as he suckled. "What a fine boy," she cooed. "I'm so sorry Edith couldn't see him properly." Glancing up at Mrs. Miller, Lydia cleared her throat delicately. "Has…does the father know yet?"

"I haven't told him yet," Mrs. Miller said shortly.

"But you will." It wasn't a question. Lydia calmly met Mrs. Miller's gaze for a moment before turning her attention back to the feeding baby. "You know better than to go over there and barge in with the baby," she continued. "It won't do you or this place any good. But the man should at least know about the boy." Her tone was a little biting as she said this, but Lydia didn't look up or glower. "Just be careful about how you do this, Agnes. The children still need you."

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Rain lashed at the windows of Rosewood Hall, but it was easy to forget that in the warm library, with a large fire roaring in the grate and piping hot tea resting on a tray beside the large overstuffed chair. Lord Herbert Morris sat with his feet to the fire and sighed in contentment as he pulled down a large book, perfectly ready for a quiet evening to himself. That is, he was before his valet came into the room.

"Forgive me, my Lord," the man said as he bowed respectfully.

Sighing dramatically, Lord Herbert closed his book pointedly and glowered at his valet. "What is it _now_, Francis?" he demanded testily. "I certainly hope that it is not one of those pesky farmers come to beg for money."

"No, my Lord," Francis said in a placating tone. "But there is a woman here who demands to see you. She says that you will know who she is."

Rolling his eyes and sighing again, Lord Herbert stood up and followed after his valet. Better get this over and done with now so that he wouldn't be pestered later, he thought sourly.

Lord Herbert was a handsome man of about thirty, with dark hair and finely formed features. He was also possessed of a dazzling smile that had rendered every girl from a scullery maid to a visiting duchess witless and love-struck upon seeing it. Smoothing his hair and well-trimmed beard, Lord Herbert entered the large hall where he received all of his tenant farmers and other lower-class callers.

The woman who had demanded to see him was an older woman, though not too old. She looked to be perhaps forty at the most, with her brown hair starting to go grey in some areas, but her brown eyes were still sharp as she met Lord Herbert's gaze unflinchingly. In her arms was a bundle of some sort, though Herbert couldn't begin to guess what was inside of the bundle.

"And what might I do for you?" he drawled lazily, letting her know just how irked he was at being interrupted without outright saying it.

The woman was not impressed, as she simply adjusted the bundle in her arms and glowered at him. "I have brought you your son, my Lord," she said scathingly.

For a moment, her words did not sink in. Then Lord Herbert threw his head back and laughed loudly. "My dear matron," he said condescendingly. "You must be mistaken. I would know if I had a son of any sort."

"Well now you've got one," the woman snapped. "Just born this morning, to a woman you wooed and claimed to love. This child was born to Edith Miller," she added with a snarl.

She watched with satisfaction as the color drained from Lord Herbert's face. How could this have happened, he thought wildly as he stared at the bundle in the woman's arms. He had seduced the Miller girl, yes, but could a child have been born out of that? Apparently so, as this woman held the evidence in her arms. And it was a son, to top it all off. Not just a bastard, but a bastard _son_.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "Aren't you going to look at your son? At my grandson?"

Oh…so this was little Edith's mother. That explained so much, he thought with a frown. Glancing once more at the bundle in Mrs. Miller's arms, Lord Herbert set his jaw and straightened his back. "Take the bastard away," he said coolly. "I want nothing to do with him, or with you."

Agnes Miller was starting to see red as Lord Herbert turned and left the room, all self-righteous contempt and pompous superiority as he did so. Gritting her teeth in anger, she looked at young Francis with venom in her eyes. "You best make sure he doesn't forget that this child exists," she snarled.

Francis gave her a look of sympathy that soon turned to stony anger. "Believe me," he said with a shaking voice. "I certainly won't let that happen." Bowing politely to Mrs. Miller, the young valet turned and left the room to follow his master.

Once more alone with her grandchild, Mrs. Miller looked down at the now-sleeping baby and sighed heavily. Gently stroking his soft cheek, she felt tears once more filling her eyes. "It's all right," she murmured. "At least I'll be here to take care of you. No matter what your father says, you'll always be my little Prince…Eugene Fitzherbert."

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Author's Note: Here it is! The long-awaited story of young Eugene Fitzherbert and his transformation into the loveable thief Flynn Rider! And for fans of my story _Flower Glow_, don't worry, I am writing the sequel to that. It'll be called _Let Your Power Shine_, and I'll be posting it very soon. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter One

Agnes Miller sighed heavily as she felt someone tugging on her apron. Over thirty orphans and all of them were pulling her away from the baking at some point or another. Turning to scold the perpetrator, she stopped herself when she saw a pair of large brown eyes staring up at her. Little Eugene Fitzherbert smiled up at her as he held out a worn book.

"Again?" Mrs. Miller asked with a slight smile. "You practically know the book by heart now."

But the small boy—almost three and a half now, Mrs. Miller thought—continued to hold the book out to her, his eyes wide and pleading. He didn't talk much, really, but he had a way of making his wishes known to those around him. Sighing in resignation as she accepted the fact that she simply wouldn't be getting any baking done, Mrs. Miller let Eugene lead her into the small sitting room that also acted as play room for the smaller children. A few of the other children who were around Eugene's age spotted them and gathered around, knowing what was coming. Soon, Mrs. Miller had a veritable army of children surrounding her as she sat down. Smiling a little to herself, she opened the worn copy of _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_, the favorite book of all the children.

"There once was a dashing hero, who was the richest man alive, as well as the bravest," she read, holding the book so that the children could see the illustrations. "He saved those who were in trouble, protected the innocent, and wooed all the ladies in the land. His name, was Flynnigan Rider."

All of the children were silent as Mrs. Miller read the story to them. But none of the children were as enthralled as Eugene, who was hanging on to every single word as though they were the most important words in the world. He nestled against Mrs. Miller, looking closely at the illustrations in the book as she read, so that he got a better look before she would turn the book towards the other children so they could also see the pictures. His brown eyes grew wider with delight at each new twist in the story, and Mrs. Miller couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at the sight of him.

"And as Flynnigan gazed into the eyes of the lovely Lady Alice," she read with a chuckle, "he knew that no other woman could ever hold his heart the way that this one did at this very moment." There were sighs from the older girls, who were no doubt hiding in the hall, pretending that they weren't listening, as Mrs. Miller closed the book. "I think that's enough for today," she said with a smile. "Go along now and play."

All of the children except Eugene did so. For some reason, the small boy decided that he wanted to shadow Mrs. Miller with the book clutched tight in his tiny hands. She never would understand why he insisted on following her around, but it made her old heart feel a little lighter when she thought of her little grandchild following her around.

Unlike his mother, who had always been a chatty little thing from the moment she began to realize that she could make sounds that people would react to, Eugene was more inclined to silence than anything else. He hadn't spoken until he was nearly two years old, leading many of the old biddies in town to assume he was a mute, but once he did start speaking, it was in full, though childish, sentences. That had shut the gossips up about him for a time, but not for long. Naturally, he was the subject of a great deal of gossip, as nearly everyone knew exactly who his father was and the circumstances surrounding his birth. Agnes Miller had tried to keep most of the gossip away from where Eugene would hear it, but she knew that it would only be a matter of time before he found out.

Eugene was a smart boy, though he didn't talk much. He had learned how to read several words and sentences already, along with writing his name with all the Es backwards. And then there was his love of books. While he preferred _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_ to any of the other books in the small orphanage library, Eugene would take down any book he could get his hands on to look through. At this point, he could only recognize one or two words at a time in most of the books, but he insisted on turning the pages and at least looking like he knew what they said, even though he was often simply admiring the pictures. Even the worst of the town gossips had to admit what a charming and intelligent boy Eugene was, though it no doubt pained them to see anything good about the bastard child of Lord Herbert.

That was the part that upset Mrs. Miller the most. No one seemed capable of looking beyond Eugene's parentage, even when he was proving to be quite a different person than his father. No matter how hard she tried, Agnes Miller knew that one way or another, little Eugene would always be a pariah in their small community. So, she let the little boy follow her around, even if he did get under her feet at times.

He didn't even bother to run off and play when there was a sharp knock at the front door of the orphanage. Instead, he just stood at the end of the hallway, his hands still clutching his book tightly as he watched Mrs. Miller go to the door. As she opened the door, Mrs. Miller was surprised to find herself looking at a sobbing young girl who she recognized from the village. Her name was Sarah White, and she had a reputation for being the town beauty ever since the death of young Edith Miller. There was something else about the girl…she was quite clearly with child.

"Oh, Sarah…" Agnes sighed heavily. "Not you too…"

Sarah nodded with another sob. She wasn't much older than Edith had been when she died, perhaps she was even the exact same age—eighteen—and she had lovely gold hair that framed a delicately formed face. Her lovely blue eyes were red and puffy from crying, and in an instant, Agnes Miller had guided her into the orphanage and to the parlor, Eugene still following after her.

"Tell me everything, child," Agnes urged as she poured some tea for the hysterical girl. She had to be at least three months or so along, Mrs. Miller guessed, judging by the fact that her stomach was only now starting to swell.

Sniffling and hiccupping a little as she accepted the cup of tea, Sarah began telling her sad tale in broken sentences. She had always thought Lord Herbert a handsome man—who could not?—and even after what had happened to poor Edith Miller, she had been silly enough to think that she could change his ways. She had been very, very wrong. When she had told him of the child she was bearing, he had all but thrown her out and forbid her from ever coming to his manor again. That was where Sarah had just come from.

All this time, Eugene was listening silently, watching the pregnant girl with wide-eyed curiosity. His book now rested on the table with the tea things as Eugene looked closely at Sarah, his eyes fixed on her stomach. He had never seen a woman who was going to have a baby before. All the babies at the orphanage were brought to Mrs. Miller by grieving relatives of the dead parents, so there were never any pregnant women around the orphans. It was almost like all the women who became pregnant were afraid that being around orphans would lower their chances to survive childbirth. Sarah didn't seem to mind, though, smiling a little at Eugene.

"This is Edith's?" she asked in a croaking voice, holding out a hand to the boy.

Mrs. Miller nodded sadly as she watched Eugene accept Sarah's hand with a small smile of his own. "Yes…this is Eugene."

Sarah's smile widened a little as Eugene took a step closer, still looking down at her stomach. "He's a handsome lad," she said quietly. "My baby is going to be your brother or sister," she added in a soft voice, squeezing Eugene's hand.

Neither of the women were certain if Eugene understood what Sarah had told him, but something in the boy seemed to change as he looked up at Sarah. His small smile grew into a wide grin before he put a hand on Sarah's stomach, seemingly understanding that there was someone inside there. As she watched her little grandson, Agnes Miller was certain that all would be well.


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Two

_Rapunzel gave Eugene a horrified look as he paused for breath_, _which naturally made Eugene pause even longer to give her a confused look_.

"_What_?" _he asked_.

"_Your…your father was awful_!" _Rapunzel cried after a moment of silence_. "_How could anyone be so awful to their own children_?"

_A part of Eugene's heart warmed at the anger in her tone_. _Knowing how much she cared for him made Eugene love her even more than he already did_. "_Well_…" _he said with a sigh_. "_Not everyone's as nice as you_, _Blondie_," _he murmured with a fond smile_. "_Now…uh…where was I..._? _Oh_, _right_. _So Sarah came to live in the orphanage with us…_"

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But Agnes Miller had never been more wrong.

She didn't know it at first, of course, because all seemed well in the months of Sarah's pregnancy. Better than well, actually. For the first time in a long time, Eugene began showing interest in someone other than his book about Flynnigan Rider and his adventures. The small boy followed Sarah around like a loyal puppy, his big brown eyes always watching her every movement, and chatting with her even when she didn't answer. Sarah seemed to adore having the little boy following her around, though, as she never asked that he not do so, and in fact doted on him like he was her little brother.

Not only that, but Sarah also would spend hours at a time, either chatting along with the little boy or reading aloud to him from his book. Eugene especially enjoyed hearing Sarah do the voices of the characters, and would laugh loudly in delight whenever Sarah read the voice of the villain, making the dark Lord Lucius a high-pitched voice with a lisp. It warmed Agnes' heart to see these two sufferers so happy in one another's company, but that ended very abruptly.

Six months after Sarah's arrival at the orphanage, she went into labor, and that was when Agnes' hopes for both Sarah and Eugene were shattered.

Sarah was reading _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_ to Eugene when she felt the pains starting in her lower back. She had been suffering mild aches in her lower back throughout her pregnancy already, but this was somehow different. Frowning a little and stopping her reading of the book, Sarah placed a hand on her stomach and gasped a little as a fresh wave of pain hit her. Eugene also frowned and came over to stand beside her.

"Wha's wrong, Sarah?" he asked in his little child's voice, resting a hand on her leg.

"I…I don't know," Sarah admitted, gasping a little. Looking down at her legs, Sarah whimpered in fear when she saw blood on her lower leg. "Eugene…Go and get Mrs. Miller," she murmured softly. "Tell her that the baby is coming."

Eugene obviously didn't understand what that meant, but he did run off to find Mrs. Miller, moving as fast as his short legs could carry him. He had seen the blood on Sarah's leg, and while he didn't understand anything about giving birth to a baby, but he did know that blood always meant something bad. Once he found Mrs. Miller, Eugene didn't bother explaining with words, simply tugging urgently at her hand, trying to get her to understand, even though he couldn't find the words to speak. Making various sounds of urgency as he pulled the older woman along, Eugene finally managed to drag her into the room where Sarah sat, grunting in pain as she watched the blood on her leg appear to spread. Looking up when she heard Eugene and Mrs. Miller approaching her, she gasped.

"The baby…the baby's coming," she whimpered.

Agnes knew the signs. She had seen them, not only with her own daughter, but with several other girls whose children now filled the orphanage. With ice water flowing through her veins rather than blood, Agnes led Sarah to the nearest bed and began preparing the poor girl for the arrival of her child, even though she was perfectly aware that Sarah would most likely not survive this.

"Eugene," she said quietly, not quite looking at him. "Go…go outside and play. Please," she added when the boy refused to move.

Frowning in confusion, the boy obeyed silently, walking out of the room and wandering outside to where the other children were playing various rough games that usually involved the boys fighting playfully while the girls pretended to be rescued. Frowning to himself, Eugene sat down next to the house, pulling his knees towards his chest and looking around in fear. Something was happening to Sarah. He didn't know _what_ it was, but…it couldn't be good.

The remainder of the day was spent with Eugene hiding in the shadows of the house, listening to the screams of pain that were coming from the window to Sarah's room. Tears were filling his eyes as he listened, and a part of him wanted to run back into the house, but Mrs. Miller has told him not to go back into the room. Then the screams stopped.

Looking up in surprise, Eugene ran—waddled, really—back into the house in an attempt to find out what had happened. He only stopped when he saw Mrs. Miller, holding a strange bundle in her arms and crying. What was the bundle, Eugene wondered before he realized that Mrs. Miller was _crying_. Why was she crying? Where was Sarah?

"Where's Sarah?" Eugene lisped, his voice small.

Sighing heavily, Mrs. Miller sat down with a shake of her head. "Sarah…Sarah isn't coming back, Eugene," she said quietly. "But…This is your sister now," she added, holding out the small bundle.

That was a baby? Eugene looked at the small face with a frown, and thought to himself that this was the ugliest thing he had ever seen. Her face was all squishy and red looking, as though someone had squashed her on purpose. But…she was his sister. Eugene had never had a brother or sister before. Looking up from the baby at Mrs. Miller, he frowned thoughtfully.

"Wha's her name?" he asked after a moment.

Mrs. Miller hadn't thought of that, it seemed, as she gave Eugene a surprised look before she smiled sadly. "Edith. We'll call her Edith."

Eugene thought this over for a moment or two before he nodded a little, as though perfectly satisfied with this answer. He looked carefully down at the baby in Mrs. Miller's arms before he gently reached up to place his small hand on top of the baby's blanket, peering closely at the little girl's face. He frowned a little and glanced back up at Mrs. Miller.

"She's ugly," he declared, wrinkling his nose.

Mrs. Miller choked on a sad laugh and shrugged a little. "Actually…she's a very lovely baby," she said quietly. I don't think that I've seen any other baby half so pretty."

A slightly insulted look crossed Eugene's face, but he seemed to recover rather well from this as he continued looking down at little Edith. "When will her eyes open?"

"Soon, Eugene," Mrs. Miller promised. "Being born is very tiring, you know. Except for you," she chuckled. "You were screaming for hours after you were born." A frown crossed her face as she looked down at the sleeping baby and she sighed heavily. "Eugene," she said quietly, "Go and get Adam. Tell him that I need him to go fetch Mrs. Lydia Kemp right away."

In the four years since Eugene's birth, Lydia Kemp had given birth to three more children, the last only a few weeks ago. Many of the gossips in the village commented on this, speculating that most of the children couldn't possibly have been fathered by Lydia's husband, David, but Agnes knew just how wrong those old biddies were. Lydia and David simply had a…very healthy and loving relationship. Besides, the second pregnancy had resulted in twins.

Eugene nodded at this important task and made his way to the dining room, where most of the older boys could be found by now. Adam was the oldest of the boys still living at the orphanage at almost sixteen, and all the little boys, Eugene included, greatly admired him. Rushing up to where Adam sat, Eugene tugged urgently on the older boy's arm.

"What is it, Eugene?" Adam asked, swallowing the bit of bread he had been chewing.

"Mrs. Miller needs you to get Mrs. Kemp," Eugene lisped quietly, looking a little embarrassed as he did so.

"Right," Adam said, standing up matter of factly. "You let Mrs. Miller know I'll be back soon."

And Adam was true to his word. Soon enough, he was back with Mrs. Kemp and her newest child in tow. Lydia needed no explanations, depositing her child in Adam's arms and taking little Edith out of Mrs.' Miller's arms.

"There we go," she cooed softly. "Oh, what a lovely baby," she murmured before looking up at Mrs. Miller. "I take it that Sarah is…?"

Agnes nodded with a sigh and ran a hand through her graying hair as she sat back. "Just now, practically."

"Oh, poor little angel," Lydia murmured. "What is her name going to be now?"

"Edith!" Eugene piped up, looking very proud of himself for speaking up at all. "An' she's my sister!"

Lydia smiled softly at this and nodded. "I'm sure she is, my dear," she answered. "I'll just keep close by for now," she added, turning to Mrs. Miller. "Just until she's old enough to be weaned."

"Thank you, Lydia," Agnes sighed in exhaustion. "It will be a great help."

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The next few months seemed to speed by for Agnes, but for Eugene, they were very slow. He didn't get to spend much time with his new baby sister, as she always had to be near Lydia Kemp so that Edith could be fed regularly, which did not sit well with the little boy. Although he still thought that Edith wasn't a particularly pretty baby, that didn't mean that he didn't care about her. After all, Mrs. Miller had told him that little Edith was his sister. While Eugene had no brother of his own, he knew that big brothers were supposed to look out for their siblings, and that was exactly what he intended to do for Edith.

Thankfully, his fifth birthday and Edith's first birthday came quickly, marking the time when Edith came to live at the orphanage permanently, now that Lydia Kemp no longer needed to be constantly nursing her. When that happened, Eugene was over the moon about it. He was the first person to greet the little girl as she waddled into the orphanage, holding onto Lydia's hand to steady her.

Eugene smiled and took Edith's other hand, which seemed to confuse the little girl. "I'm Eugene," he said in explanation. "M'your big brother."

Edith still didn't understand, but she seemed to understand that he was someone who was a friend, and smiled up at the older boy, letting go of Lydia and following after Eugene as he started chattering about how much fun she would have. He didn't mention any of the things that made living in the orphanage almost unbearable, which both Lydia and Mrs. Miller noticed, but focused instead on how wonderful it would be for her with him as a big brother.

"I think those two will do just fine," Lydia said after a moment, shifting her youngest daughter on her hip. "With Eugene to watch over Edith…nothing in the world can stand in their way."

Agnes nodded a little and sighed heavily. "I hope so, Lydia. For their sakes…I certainly hope so."


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Three

"_Was Edith a pretty baby_?" _Rapunzel asked curiously as she cuddled closer to Eugene_.

"_I didn't think so at first_," _Eugene admitted with a chuckle_. "_But she turned out to be adorable_."

_Rapunzel smiled at this and curled up tighter_,_ as though she was cold_, _but the room was far too warm for her to be cold_. _Smiling a little at this_, _Eugene gently kissed the top of her head with a chuckle_.

"_What happened after she came back to the orphanage_?" _she asked idly_, _playing with the collar of Eugene's shirt_.

"_So…I guess you want to hear the _whole_ story of my childhood_?" _he demanded with a sigh_.

"_Please_?" _Rapunzel asked with her most pleading look_.

_Low blow_, _Eugene thought with a roll of his eyes_. _Real low blow_. _She _knew_ that he couldn't resist her when she gave him that look_. _Wrapping his arms tighter around her_, _Eugene sighed again and shook his head_. "_Of course you do_. _Well…after that_, _it was just life as usual_. _For me at least_. _Not really for Edith…_"

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To say that things were easier for the two children now that they were together would be a horrible mistake. Eugene, however, was quite used to being the most unwanted child in the orphanage, so he could easily shrug off the teasing and taunting from the older children, who had learned from the town gossips all of Eugene's sordid background. Being only four years old, Eugene didn't understand most of what they said, but some of it made all too much sense.

"They say your father's still alive," some of the twelve-year-old boys would sneer. "Alive and rich, but he didn't want you 'cause you're a bastard, and no one wants a bastard."

Eugene wasn't quite sure what the word bastard meant, but he was sure it was a very nasty insult, and he learned to hate it. What he hated even more was the idea that he had a parent somewhere, something that most of the orphans dreamed of, but that parent didn't want him. What was so wrong with him that his own father didn't want him? And if Edith was his sister…Eugene didn't quite know for sure, but didn't that mean they had the same father? Did that mean Edith was a bastard too? He hoped not, because he was sure that a bastard was something nasty, and Edith was too cute to be anything nasty.

Still, Eugene had been listening to the taunting for long enough to know how to handle it. At least…he could handle it when it was directed at him specifically. When the taunts were directed at Edith, however, it was an entirely different story.

There were several groups of children at Mrs. Miller's little orphanage. There were the newborns, the toddlers, the younger children, the bigger children, and the teenagers. The toddlers and younger children—ranging in age from two to six when grouped together—shared the same attic room while the bigger children and teenagers—ages seven to sixteen—were all cramped together in the other attic room. Because of this, the bigger children thought themselves very far above the children in Edith and Eugene's age groups. Apparently, being able to breathe the same air as the teenagers at bedtime made them very important, though Eugene didn't understand how that worked.

So, with such an attitude, it was natural that the older children became bullies very quickly; especially the eight and nine-year-olds. Those were the children who were particularly nasty to Eugene, and he hated them with a passion. Of course, for Mrs. Miller's sake, he never did anything like shout at them or get into fights with the bigger boys. He liked it when Mrs. Miller called him a good boy, and he didn't want that to go away anytime soon. But the moment that the eight- and nine-year-old boys started taunting Edith, all bets were off.

It started about two weeks after Edith came to live at the orphanage permanently. This wasn't unusual. Many of the newborns who lived at the orphanage were only there a part of the time, as they needed wet nurses to feed them regularly. The other children at the orphanage were used to seeing babies leave the small house at the beginning of the day only to return for the night, and then coming to live permanently under Mrs. Miller's roof once they no longer needed to be breast fed. Still, the half-sister of Eugene Fitzherbert was a very different child. Like Eugene, she had a father who didn't want her, and so she instantly became the newest target for the bullies among the orphans.

"See you finally got yourself a sister, Fitzherbert," one of the meaner boys—a sandy-haired nine-year-old named Samson—called with a sneer.

Edith looked up curiously at the new voice, though Eugene did his best to ignore the other boy. Eugene had made an art out of avoiding Samson, and he wasn't about to start acknowledging the older boy's existence now.

"I hear that her mother got thrown out by your father, Fitzherbert," Samson continued, hoping to at least get _some_ reaction out of Eugene. "I hear he called that Sarah Baker a filthy whore, and said any kid of hers would be nothing more than a dirty little bastard."

That did it. Eugene could handle being called a lot of names, but hearing Sarah spoken of that way—even though he couldn't begin to guess what a whore was—and worst of all…hearing _Edith_ dragged into it all, he began seeing red. Standing up suddenly with his tiny hands clenched into fists, Eugene turned to glower at Samson. The older boy only laughed at this show of temper, apparently finding it very laughable that Eugene would even _think_ of facing him. In that moment, there was nothing Eugene wanted more than to wipe that awful smile off of Samson's round face.

No one really knew what happened after that. Some of the children claimed that Samson said something else and then made to hit Eugene; others said that Eugene threw the first punch; still others simply said they didn't care who started it, but Samson got what he damned well deserved. Of course, their choice of words was a little different within earshot of Mrs. Miller, but the sentiment remained.

No matter how it happened, Samson soon found himself on the ground with five-year-old Eugene on top of him, small fists striking every part of Samson's face that Eugene could make contact with. For a moment, the other children were too stunned to do much of anything, and then Edith began to cry because she was confused and could tell that Eugene was going to get in trouble. The sound of Edith's tears seemed to spur the other children into motion, as one of the ten-year-old girls ran into the house to get Mrs. Miller to put a stop to the fight and all the other children began to crowd around the fighting boys.

Samson soon recovered from his shock, but there wasn't much he could do at first, as Eugene's fists kept colliding with his face, over and over, not allowing Samson any room to try and hit back. By the time Mrs. Miller rushed out into the yard, however, the two boys were scuffling together, both trying hard to hit the other while rolling around in the grass. Edith stood behind the growing crowd of children, still crying in confusion, but no one seemed to notice her. Pausing to pick up Edith, Mrs. Miller made her way through the children and reached down to separate the two fighting boys. Eugene's nose was now bleeding, but Samson was in much worse condition with a split lip, a black eye already starting to show, and bruises all over his face. For a long moment, no one said anything as Mrs. Miller tried to make sense of what had happened.

Once the other children who had been close enough to hear told her all that had been said by Samson, Mrs. Miller sent the older boy into the house where she would talk to him later. Samson limped off to the house, looking very much like a dog with its tail between its legs, leaving Eugene to the mercy of Mrs. Miller.

"Now…" Agnes said slowly. "I want everyone else to go and play, or go into the house. I need to have a word with Eugene."

Everyone knew what that meant. "Having a word" with Mrs. Miller had become synonymous with being sent somewhere else. All the other children were very quiet and subdued as they made their way off to different parts of the yard and house; even Edith quieted down, seeming to sense that something wasn't quite right just now. Eugene didn't bother trying to look ashamed of himself, simply sniffling in an attempt to slow his nosebleed as he met Mrs. Miller's gaze calmly.

A part of Agnes Miller wanted to shake the small boy for being so badly behaved, but another part of her was scared to. He looked so much like her own daughter, his mother, that Agnes didn't have the heart to shout at him, let alone shake him. But the defiant light in his eyes…that was something that Eugene had inherited from his father, and that was what frightened Agnes the most. She didn't want her precious little Eugene to grow up anything like his father, the man who had not only broken her daughter's heart, but who was partially responsible for the deaths of both Edith Miller and Sarah Baker. That would just break Agnes' heart beyond repair, and as she met the dark gaze of little Eugene Fitzherbert, she couldn't help herself as she put Edith down and pulled the small boy into a fierce hug, as though hoping that would somehow make him understand all her fears.

It didn't of course. Eugene was confused by the sudden hug, and didn't react at all. When Mrs. Miller finally released him, Eugene stared at her, not with defiance, but pure confusion.

"You awful, wonderful boy," Agnes said through her tears. "You didn't have to hit Samson! All you had to do was come and get me, and I would have sorted him out right away!"

"But…" Eugene said slowly, his brow furrowed with mingled anger and confusion, "he said…he called Sarah a whore and Edith a little bastard!"

Agnes Miller had been surprised many times in her life; the two most obvious moments being when both her daughter and Sarah had come to her with the news that they were carrying the child of Lord Herbert Morris. This, however, was a completely different sort of surprise. The moments when she had faced two crying girls who were pregnant with children unwanted by the father, she had felt sick to her stomach with the shock, but now…Now she only felt a numb surprise that seemed to take far too long to register in her mind. She had heard some of the older children repeating what the town gossips would say about Eugene, of course, but this…Were people really saying such things about poor Sarah and her little baby girl? Looking at Edith, who was now sucking on her thumb and hiccupping as tears continued trailing down her round cheeks, Agnes Miller realized that no matter how precious the child, there would always be someone in the background whispering horrible things about that child. Setting her jaw firmly, Mrs. Miller stood up and turned to face the house.

"Then I will be having a few words with Samson," she said slowly. "Eugene…Go and play with Edith until dinner time."

A part of Eugene was shocked by this. Why wasn't he being punished? After all, he'd gotten into a fight! That was one of the worst things that you could possibly do at the orphanage, as it was one of the most certain ways to get sent away, to people who wouldn't be as kind as Mrs. Miller. Staring after Mrs. Miller with wide eyes, Eugene looked at Edith as though she could explain everything to him. But, of course, Edith couldn't. She couldn't even talk, let alone explain anything to her half-brother. Finally, Eugene simply shrugged his shoulders and took Edith's hand—the one that was not in her mouth—and led her along to another part of the yard, where he liked sitting with his copy of _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_ and admiring the illustrations without being interrupted.

Sitting down across from where Edith stood, staring at the ground as though unsure what to do with it, Eugene pulled out the book in question and began turning the pages. He knew the story by heart at this point, as Mrs. Miller and Sarah had read it to him so many times, but Edith had never heard it before. That was something that simply _had_ to be dealt with.

"Sit down," he instructed, smiling a little shakily.

Edith blinked twice at him, her hand still stuffed in her mouth.

"Sit down," Eugene repeated, making a motion with his hand. When she still didn't move, Eugene sighed and gently pushed her to sit before returning his attention to the book in his hand. Edith didn't really seem to appreciate how wonderful the book was, but Eugene didn't mind as he lost himself in retelling his favorite story, with some embellishments and changes, of course. None of that icky kissing stuff in _his_ version of the story.

That was where Mrs. Miller found them after she had a few choice words with Samson about his conduct. Eugene was still telling the story—his version, she noticed with a smile—even though Edith had curled up and fallen asleep at his feet. Smiling sadly, Mrs. Miller gently touched Eugene's shoulder to alert him of her presence before bending down to pick up little Edith.

"It's dinner time," she explained when Eugene pouted in protest. "Come along."

They made their way back to the small house, Edith curled up in Mrs. Miller's arms and Eugene holding onto Mrs. Miller's apron, his other hand clutching _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_ close to his chest. Perhaps, now that Mrs. Miller had spoken to Samson, things would be better.

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"_Were they_?"

_Eugene looked down at Rapunzel's upturned face in mild confusion_. "_Hmm_?" _he asked_. "_Were what_?"

"_Were things better after Mrs. Miller talked to that awful boy_?" _she persisted_.

_Blinking a little_, _Eugene smiled sadly at Rapunzel and gently kissed her forehead_. "_A little…at first_," _he admitted_. "_But things went back to normal fairly quickly…with everyone avoiding Edith and me like we were sick with the plague_." _A horrified look crossed Rapunzel's face at this declaration_, _but Eugene hastily kissed her to reassure her_. "_It wasn't that bad_, _I swear_," _he murmured_. "_And we did have some good times_."


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Four

Edith's second birthday was three days after Eugene turned six, and both children were very excited. Eugene because it meant more cake for him, and Edith because for some reason her big brother was happy about something, and that instantly made her happy. She was still too young to understand what birthdays really were, so she didn't know that she was supposed to be excited about presents and cake and stuff. Eugene, however, had celebrated six birthdays by now, so he knew everything there was to know about how they were supposed to be anticipated for weeks in advance.

"Mrs. Miller's gonna make a cake and then we're gonna open presents!" he explained to Edith, who didn't really seem to be paying attention to exactly what he was saying. "It'll be fun, Edith," Eugene insisted.

All Edith did was giggle a little and reach over to pat his face playfully. She was a smart little kid, but there were still some things that she didn't quite get. Rolling his eyes a little, Eugene flopped onto his stomach on the grass, his now very-battered copy of _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_ in front of him. The binding was cracked and some of the pages were loose, but there was no way Eugene was going to replace it. When Mrs. Miller suggested getting him a new copy for his birthday, he had said no. This was _his_ book, and he didn't want to replace it anytime soon.

"Story?" Edith asked curiously, plopping down on the ground next to him, her big blue eyes filled with anticipation. She loved it when Eugene read to her, even if she didn't quite follow most of the story. Usually, it was just the two of them reading together, but sometimes the other kids who were too young to read would crowd around them to listen in. Both Edith and Eugene preferred when it was just the two of them, but that didn't mean Eugene refused to read to the other kids.

"Sure, Edith," Eugene said with a grin.

While he had only recently learned how to read for himself, Eugene was confident enough in his knowledge of the story that he only rarely stumbled. And even when he did, none of the younger kids taunted him about it, because they themselves couldn't read anything at all. To the little kids, at least, he was someone to be held in awe and not someone to tease or make fun of.

Mrs. Miller found them a little later, now surrounded by at least five other children, who were all listening to Eugene raptly, as though afraid to move or even speak for fear of breaking the spell. Smiling a little to herself, Mrs. Miller went back into the house to let the children finish their story before she called them to lunch. After all, it was Edith's birthday, so Mrs. Miller would let the little girl enjoy today as much as possible.

Eugene didn't finish the entire book in that one sitting, as it was too thick for him to do that, but he did manage to stop at a wonderful cliff hanger before he closed the book. Groans of disappointment came from all the children listening to the story, but Eugene just grinned at them all. There would be plenty of time for more reading after Edith's birthday celebration.

Mrs. Miller went out of her way to ensure that each child's birthday was something for them to look forward to, rather than just another day. Even the older boys and girls who were nearly old enough to leave the orphanage to find work or to get married would have their own special day set aside on their birthday. Of course, Mrs. Miller would have preferred to give more attention to Edith and Eugene's birthdays, but to do so would be asking for trouble from the other children, who would no doubt see her favoritism as another excuse to dislike Eugene and Edith. The last thing Mrs. Miller wanted was to make life more difficult for her grandson and his half-sister.

With all the other children following after him, Eugene led Edith along to the house where the real birthday celebration would take place.

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_Rapunzel looked up in mild protest when Eugene paused_, _as though he was simply going to stop right there_. "_What did you do on Edith's birthday_?" _she pressed_, _hoping to get him to continue_.

"_Honestly…I don't really remember any of our birthdays that well_," _Eugene admitted sheepishly_. "_A lot of the days at the orphanage began blending together the longer I was away from it_."

_Pondering this for a moment_, _Rapunzel slowly nodded before once more resting her head on his shoulder_. "_What other things happened_, _then_? _When did you run away from the orphanage_?"

_Eugene winced slightly at that question and sighed a little_. "_I ran away…two years after Edith's second birthday_. _Not on her birthday_, _of course_, _but not long after_."

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Eugene hated his life. He had decided that some months ago, but it had never been more true than it was at this moment. Those stupid old ladies and all their gossip…he'd learned to ignore them most of the time, but for some reason he hadn't done that today. Why had he listened to them?

Because they had been telling the truth. He knew the answer, but even thinking it made Eugene want to hide in a hole and never come out again.

The old gossips had been talking about him, as they usually did, when he walked past. They didn't even bother lowering their voices as eight-year-old Eugene walked by, which only served to make him feel even madder.

"There he goes, the little Fitzherbert boy."

"Yes…do you think he'll ever be taken in by his father?"

"Oh, please. The last thing that Lord Herbert wants is a bastard son as his only heir. No…he'll marry some nice young Lady for her money and have one or two brats with her."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Lettie, dear. After all, it's been twelve years since his father died and all but ordered him to marry, and Lord Herbert is still single. Old habits die hard, and all that."

"Old habits or not, he won't be taking in that little boy anytime soon. After all…who would want to admit that little boy was their son? Let alone an illegitimate one."

They were right of course. Why would his father want him? It had been eight years, and Lord Herbert still hadn't made any indication that he wanted either Eugene or Edith. Swallowing harshly at the thought, Eugene balled his hands into fists and felt hot tears of anger burning at his eyes.

Fine. If no one here wanted him, then he wasn't going to stay much longer.

But Mrs. Miller and Edith wanted him around, a small voice in the back of his head reminded him.

Not for long. Edith was already a very pretty little girl of four, and in only ten years, she'd be the town beauty. She wouldn't want her big brother hanging around then, keeping boys away from her and keeping her close by. And Mrs. Miller had other kids to worry about that would take her mind off of Eugene before too long. No…no one wanted him.

With that thought spurring him on, Eugene reached under his bed for the rucksack that was hidden there. It wasn't in the best condition, but it was better than nothing and would hold everything he owned, which wasn't much to begin with. Once he had the bag, Eugene clambered back out from under the bed and began shoving his belongings into it. Clothing went in first, without his even bothering to fold it nicely, and then a few of his personal mementos. He only paused when he picked up his copy of _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_. Frowning a little, he glanced towards the door that led to the room where Edith slept. Maybe it would be better if he left the book for her…after all, she loved the story just as much as Eugene did.

Standing up with the book in his hands, Eugene slowly made his way to the other room. None of the other children were in their room yet, thankfully, so Eugene could walk over to Edith's bed without being interrupted. Edith's bed was the one nearest the window, and it was very neatly kept compared to the other beds in the room. Smiling a little at this, Eugene lifted the pillow and tucked the book underneath. He paused for a moment before leaving the room, though, simply looking around, specifically at his sister's bed and the small table beside it where she kept her things. But before he could get really nostalgic about this, Eugene hastily left the room and went back to packing up his things.

It was almost dinner time when he finished packing, and for a moment, Eugene considered just staying for one last meal. His thoughts were interrupted by Edith coming into the room, sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Eugene asked as Edith limped over.

"Fell down," she explained, lifting her skirt to show a scrape on her knee.

"Aw…" Eugene murmured soothingly. "Poor kid…up you go." He picked up Edith and placed her on his bed before he went to the washstand under the window of the room and dipped a rag in water before coming back and kneeling in front of Edith, who was still pouting. "Lemme look at that," he continued, lifting her skirt so that he could get a better look at the scrape. "Ah…that's not so bad," he said with a smile. "I'll just clean this up for you and then you'll be back in business."

Edith only whimpered a little before she watched in interest as her brother began cleaning her knee. Eugene made sure he was gentle, because Edith was the sort of kid who cried if she got bumped too hard. Smiling soothingly at her, Eugene continued to wipe away at the scrape, leaving it clean and bare.

"There we go," he said after a minute. "Now…I'm going to wrap it all up and then we'll read some of _Flynnigan Rider_. How's that sound?"

Another tear rolled down Edith's round cheek as she sniffled slightly and nodded. That did sound like a very good idea right now.

"I'll be right back to get the bandage," Eugene said with a smile. "You stay right here. Okay, sweetie?"

Edith nodded again and Eugene walked out of the room to get both the bandage and the book. He'd put the book back under the pillow when Edith went down to dinner. When he returned with the bandage and book in hand, he smiled and knelt down once more to wrap the bandage around her knee.

"All better," he said, standing up and kissing her forehead with a smile that was just a little forced. "Okay…where did we last leave off?"

When Mrs. Miller finally called them down to dinner, they had read another two chapters. Smiling a little sadly as Edith hopped off of the bed to go down to dinner, Eugene assured his sister that he would be down in a little bit. Once she was out of the room, Eugene ran back to her bed and tucked the book under the pillow. Before he could start to have second thoughts, he made his way back to where he had stuffed his rucksack and walked over to the window. Pushing it open, he glanced back over his shoulder one last time before climbing through the window and out of the orphanage forever.


	6. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Five

_Rapunzel was silent for a long time after Eugene finished telling her about how he had run away from the orphanage_,_ making him wonder if she wanted to hear more of the story_. _It _was_ getting a little late in the day_, _almost time for them to join the king and queen for dinner_. _Maybe now would be a good time to take a break…_

"_Did you ever go back_?"

_The simple question caught Eugene off_-_guard for a moment_. _Looking down at Rapunzel in mild surprise_, _he thought carefully before he answered her_. "_A couple of times_. _Just to see how Edith was doing_. _She never saw me_, _though_."

_She nodded against Eugene's shoulder, as if this was a perfectly acceptable answer to her_. _Once more there was a long pause and Eugene was tempted to suggest they pause in the story for a bit when Rapunzel spoke again_.

"_What happened after you left_? _Did you become Flynn Rider right away_?"

_Eugene smiled dryly at that and shook his head_. "_No…not right away_. _I was still just a kid then_, _after all…_"

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The world was a lot bigger than Eugene had realized. Once he left the village where he had spent his entire life, he was struck by how very big everything was. All he had was one little rucksack and no knowledge of anywhere but the orphanage that had been his home for eight years. Where was he supposed to go now?

Well, the only obvious answer to him was the capitol city. That was where everyone went to start a new life. Eugene had been there once or twice, for the bigger celebrations that involved the king and queen, such as one of their anniversaries—he thought it was the fifth or something like that—and the celebration of their tenth year as rulers of the kingdom. The city was much better than the little village Eugene was leaving behind. At least in the city, no one knew him. No one would judge him for being the bastard son of a Lord who couldn't keep his hands to himself.

So, with his rucksack on his back, Eugene turned in the general direction of the city and started walking. He had thought that it would be an easy walk, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. What had taken only one day when riding on an old cart with Mrs. Miller and the other orphans now took three days. And they were three very exhausting days, to say the least. By the time he made it to the long bridge road that led into the city, Eugene was stumbling with exhaustion and barely able to keep his eyes open.

Sitting down against the wall of one of the many small shops, Eugene closed his eyes for a minute, just to help himself get at least some rest. He hadn't slept well for the last two nights, perched either in a tree or curling up underneath some bushes, so he might as well get something resembling rest now.

Unfortunately, even this plan wasn't as easy as he had first thought it was. Someone shook his shoulders roughly to wake him, and when Eugene opened his eyes he found himself staring up at one of the many city guards. Frowning a little at this, Eugene met the guard's gaze evenly.

"What?" he asked, a tad snappishly.

"Sorry, son," the guard said. "I'm afraid you can't sleep here. There are plenty of places for a young man such as yourself to stay, though. One such place is just down that road," he continued, pointing to his right.

Eugene didn't want to admit it, but that did sound rather appealing. Especially if he didn't have to pay to stay at these places. He had no money at all, after all, and wasn't exactly the sort of kid who would be getting any money anytime soon unless he stole it. And he wasn't about to do that just now. Not yet. Standing up and picking up his rucksack, Eugene walked in the direction that the guard was pointing and frowned a little to himself when he saw the place in question. It was not the best of places, but it did say free rooms on the sign. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, Eugene reached up and knocked on the door.

The door opened to reveal a woman who had to be about Mrs. Miller's age, if not older, who gave Eugene a piercing look before speaking.

"Let me guess…you were sent here for a room, weren't you?" she asked, though not unkindly. When Eugene nodded silently, she stepped aside to let him into the building. "All right. We aren't the finest establishment in the kingdom, but we do manage to keep our guests comfortable enough. That and I have a soft spot for handsome young men such as yourself," she said, motioning for Eugene to follow her. "I'm Mrs. Elliot, by the way. And who might you be?"

Eugene opened his mouth to answer, pausing for a moment before he murmured, "F-Flynn Rider…" flushing to the roots of his hair.

If Mrs. Elliot was familiar with _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_, she didn't show any sign of it as she led him up the stairs. "Flynn Rider…nice handsome name. Right, Mr. Rider," she murmured, opening the door to a room on the second floor. "This will be yours. Now, I do have some ground rules. You keep the room clean and don't make too much trouble for me, you get to keep the room. Meal times are strict. Come late, you don't get to eat. And I do recommend you looking into getting some sort of employment. Apprenticeship is always good for a boy your age."

Eugene didn't answer, simply nodding as he entered the room. He had to admit, this was rather…overwhelming. He'd never had a room all to himself before, and he enjoyed the idea of having this seemingly spacious room all to himself perhaps a little too much. Once Mrs. Elliot had closed the door behind her, Eugene rushed over and flopped onto the bed, not even bothering to undress before falling fast asleep.

The next day, he began exploring the city. Not to find employment the way Mrs. Elliot had suggested, but just for the sake of getting to know the city. Besides, none of the places where a boy could become an apprentice really appealed to him. Butcher? No way. Baker? Hell no. Blacksmith was too noisy, and dealing with horses was out of the question anyway. Eugene hated horses, so stable boy was out. In the end, it seemed that thieving was his only option. Maybe that way he could become as rich as Flynnigan Rider had been. That was a great idea…being rich enough to go wherever he wanted to and doing anything he wanted to.

So, he simply wandered the streets, taking in the sights. When he came to the town square, he paused in front of an elaborate mosaic that was set into one of the walls. Frowning a little as he looked closer at the mosaic, Eugene noticed that it had to be of the king and queen. The queen was a pretty woman with dark hair and large green eyes who seemed to smile kindly at all her subjects as they passed by her picture, while the king was a large man with dark hair and beard and calm blue eyes that looked like they might twinkle if Eugene ever met the man face-to-face. Eugene stood in front of the mosaic for a long time before he turned away and returned to wandering the streets, the images of the king and queen still set in his mind.

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"_So I hadn't been born yet_?"

"_You know_, _if you keep interrupting the story_, _Blondie_, _I'm never going to be able to finish_," _Eugene teased with a grin_. "_But…no_. _You weren't born yet_. _But you were born while I was living in the city_."

_That seemed to interest Rapunzel a great deal_, _as she looked up with her eyes sparkling with curiosity_. "_Really_?" _she asked_. "_Tell me about when I was born_. _How long after you first going to the city was it_? _Did you help look for the magic flower_?"

_Eugene laughed softly and bent down to kiss Rapunzel's forehead tenderly_. "_Come on_, _Blondie_,_ you gotta stop interrupting me if you wanna hear the story_."

_Rapunzel looked a little sheepish about this and then smiled slightly as she settled more comfortably against Eugene_, _looking very curious_. "_Okay…I'm ready to hear the rest now_."

_Chuckling a little to himself_,_ Eugene wrapped his arms around her before continuing_. "_Let me think…it was about two months after I got to the city that your mom got sick…_"

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Everyone in the kingdom heard about the queen's illness. It was the sort of news that you didn't keep to yourself, after all. Especially with the rumors and legends of the magical golden flower that was said to grow in the mountains surrounding the kingdom. Eugene was one of the first to hear about it, as he had learned his way around the city quite well, and made his way to the garrison that housed all the guards and soldiers in the city. There he heard all the news about the queen's rapidly deteriorating health.

"They say that she won't last much longer," one of the younger guards said quietly, looking very much like he wanted to cry.

"And her carrying a baby too," an older man murmured with a shake of his head. "That's just too cruel. Not just to the queen, but to the king as well. He'll be losing a wife and a child if she dies…"

"I hear that he's going to start sending people out to search for the magical flower," a third man said. "Don't you think…that's a little desperate?"

"The king is about to lose his wife and unborn child," the second man said firmly. "If he does start sending people out, I am certainly going to be one of those to join the search."

That was when Eugene left the barracks, feeling like he'd just learned about a long-lost friend dying. He had gone to look at the mosaic of the king and queen each day, admiring the lovely queen and fatherly king, and creating little scenarios in his mind where he met them and found out just how good they were. Always, the queen was like the mother he had never known and the king was a greater father figure then his true father ever could be. Now…hearing that the beautiful queen was dying was like a physical blow to Eugene. If the king really was going to send people to find the legendary magical flower, then Eugene was with the older soldier; he would join the search, just so the queen could live.

The proclamation announcing the search for the magical golden flower was sent out nearly a week later, along with the news that the queen's condition was only worsening. Eugene was in the town square, staring up at the mosaic as he always did. When he heard the man shouting for all those in the town square to gather around, he rushed over and started pushing through the crowd insistently, trying to get to the front of the crowd so he could hear better. There were no other children in the crowd, he noticed, but that was just fine with him. That meant no other kids would be making too much noise for Eugene to hear clearly.

"Let it be known," the man in royal livery read off of a scroll, "that on this day, his Royal Majesty, King William of Corona, has declared that any and all those who are able-bodied and willing, are to join in a search for the legendary magical flower…"

And there the crowd began to go wild with people shouting out that they would join in the search, with Eugene's cries joining those of the adults. The man holding the scroll looked at the crowd in mild surprise. Apparently, he had not been expecting such an enthusiastic response. Rolling up his scroll with a nod, the man motioned for one of the guards who had accompanied him to step forward.

Eugene watched closely as the guard stepped up, clearing his throat. "We have arranged to have several groups going into different parts of the mountains," the guard explained. Those who join this search may join whichever of the groups they wish. All members of the search party are expected to be diligent and to report anything that could possibly lead us to the flower in question. Now…those who wish to join…report to the docks!"

It was like a tidal wave of people had been released, with Eugene caught up in the middle of it. Not that he minded, of course.

The boats were already prepared for the members of the search party, allowing them to easily climb onboard and be taken to different parts of the mountains. No one seemed to notice that Eugene was among the group that went towards the cliffs that bordered the ocean. Of course, that was partly because Eugene had spent the last two months perfecting becoming invisible to anyone that he didn't want to see him. And it had gotten him quite a bit of money already. Oh, he wasn't perfect at pick-pocketing yet, but he was getting there really fast. Speaking of which…

Eugene glanced around, sorely tempted to lighten a few pockets, but then he remembered that he had come here to help save the queen, not to steal. That could wait until later. So, instead, he simply sat down next to one of the many long benches that were set up to seat the dozens of searchers, and curled up so that no one would notice him right away.

And no one did, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to get into trouble now of all times. Sure, some other time he wouldn't mind getting into trouble, but right now he wasn't trying to steal or anything. The one thing he wanted was to help the queen get better. He didn't really understand _why_…he just did.

It was after dark when they reached the cliffs, and Eugene was one of the first people off the boat, scrambling up the cliffs as fast as he could. He didn't know where he should look for this golden flower, but he didn't really care at this point. For one thing, he'd never gotten to go hiking in the mountains, and for another, this was the most important thing he'd ever done up until now.

He wasn't with the main group when they finally found the flower, but Eugene felt just as proud as anyone in the group that found it. And when the announcement was made only two weeks later that the queen had given birth to a healthy baby girl, Eugene felt more than a little responsible for that.

He never saw the little Princess, but he was there in the crowd when the king and queen released the floating lantern to celebrate the birth of their daughter, and he watched as the various artists surrounded his favorite mosaic to alter it to include the baby Princess. Sadly, he was also there when the news of the Princess' disappearance spread through the city and the rest of the kingdom. When that happened, Eugene wanted to join the groups searching for the baby Princess, but it proved too hard to sneak along with the search parties in this case, unlike the search for the golden flower. So, Eugene went back to his life on the streets, returning each night to Mrs. Elliot's little boarding house.

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"_And now, I think that's a good place to pause so we can go join your parents for dinner_," _Eugene said before Rapunzel could argue or ask any questions about the story_. _Standing up with a smile at the Princess, Eugene bowed with a flourish and offered her his arm_. "_Allow me to escort you to dinner_."

_Rapunzel accepted with a giggle_, _but the whole time that she was at dinner_, _she was pondering what Eugene had told her about his childhood so far_. _Even before they had met face to face…her Eugene had helped save her by going out to search for the golden flower that had healed her mother and allowed her birth to take place_. _With this in mind_, _Rapunzel beamed at Eugene and reached under the dinner table to squeeze his hand_.


	7. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Six

_Eugene had thought that he had gotten out of finishing the story quite effectively with dinner as a distraction_, _but he hadn't counted on just how stubborn Rapunzel could be_. _He was aware of her stubbornness_, _of course_, _he simply hadn't accounted for it in this instance_. _So_, _when he found Rapunzel perched on their bed_, _eyes shining and grinning like a fool_, _it took him a moment to figure out why she was so pleased_.

"_What happened after I was kidnapped_?" _she asked_.

_It took Eugene a moment to realize exactly what she meant by the question_. _Then he groaned mentally and silently cursed the day he had ever promised to tell her about his past_. _Joining her on the bed_, _he sighed a little as he settled comfortably against the headboard_. _He was vaguely aware of Pascal on top of the headboard_, _but the frog wasn't bothering him_, _so Eugene didn't pay much attention to his scaly almost_-_friend_.

"_Well…I began doing more thieving_, _to be honest_," _he admitted a little sheepishly_, _glancing at Rapunzel as though looking for some judgmental look on her face_. _There was none_, _and he continued his story_. "_I started to get really serious about being a thief about a year after I ran away from the orphanage_, _when I was nine_."

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Eugene stood idly leaning against the wall behind him, smirking slightly as he watched the citizens of the city rush around, leading their busy lives. He had remained in Mrs. Elliot's boarding house for another five months after the disappearance of the Princess, until her boarding house had been closed down. Now he lived wherever he could, but after a few months of this lifestyle, Eugene was becoming quite used to being homeless. What kept him going from day to day was the hope that someday he would be as rich as his hero, Flynnigan Rider, and be able to leave this life behind.

Perhaps he'd find himself an island where he would never be bothered by anyone again. That idea had some merit to it. Especially since that meant he could also find a place for him to take Edith. Somewhere she would be safe from all the people who had ever called her the daughter of a filthy whore. Frowning a little at that thought, Eugene pushed himself away from the wall. Across the town square from him was the mosaic that he had spent so many hours admiring in his time here. Now it no longer simply showed the king and queen, but in the queen's arms there was a beautiful baby girl with long golden hair and huge green eyes. Eugene had never seen the Princess in real life, but he had still become very familiar with the face of the little girl. A part of him still wondered if the little Princess was alive somewhere, but he pushed that thought aside. If he was going to eat tonight, he had to focus.

Glancing around him at the various people moving past him, Eugene couldn't help but grin as he spotted a rather well-off merchant who was walking around with a distracted look on his face. His absent-mindedness would cost him his pocket money at the least. Slipping through the crowd with practiced ease, Eugene fell into step behind the merchant, his eyes fixed on the bag of money tied to the man's belt.

While he was not a perfect thief yet, Eugene had spent the last several months becoming passable and even good at it. And with such a prime target as the one before him, how could he resist the temptation? Grinning to himself in triumph, Eugene reached forward and gently, oh so gently, lifted the purse of money enough that he could untie the strings that kept it attached to the merchant's belt. That done, he quickly pocketed the money and began walking casually away. Hopefully…no one had seen him…

"Stop! Thief!"

…Well, damn.

It seemed that Eugene had not been as careful as he had thought. Without thinking, he broke into a run and began weaving his way through the crowds, the sound of booted feet running behind him growing closer the thicker the crowd became. Cursing silently, Eugene tried to duck into an alley to escape the guards that were closing in on him, but that failed miserably as he felt a strong hand grabbing the collar of his shirt. With a slight choking sound as the shirt collar dug into the front of his neck, Eugene was pulled back away from the alley and turned around so that he was facing the guard holding him.

Eugene had to say that, compared to all the other guards he had seen, this one was particularly ugly looking. The man had to be somewhere in his early twenties, and was already growing what would probably someday be a fine mustache. There was a long pause as the two of them stared at one another, and then Eugene flashed the guard his best smile.

"Is there a problem, sir?" he asked with all the innocence he could muster.

"I think you know exactly what sort of a problem there is," the guard growled, obviously not at all fooled by Eugene's grin. Eugene silently cursed this fact.

"Why…I don't know, sir," he said, still keeping his voice innocent. "Did someone do something wrong?"

The guard continued to glower down at Eugene, and the boy felt his confidence starting to waver ever so slightly, but he continued to stare at the older man with wide, innocent eyes, praying that the guard would release him. Unfortunately, the guard did not seem eager to do so, as he kept his grip on Eugene's shirt collar firm and unrelenting. This was starting to get uncomfortable when the guard spoke again.

"Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Eugene asked, his confused tone only partly feigned.

"The money you stole from that man!"

This guard had an incredibly short temper, Eugene noted with a slight smirk to himself. He hastily rearranged his features into a guileless stare before the guard could notice the smile and began looking around, as though to locate the money.

"I don't have any money, sir," he said, holding up his empty hands and feeling grateful that he had managed to stuff the purse under his vest before the guard caught him. Now all he could do was hope that the purse didn't create a bulge underneath his vest, and all would be well.

Apparently not. It seemed that not only did this guard have a nasty temper, but he was also relentless.

"I saw you running off with it, boy, now where is it?"

Eugene decided that he better start bluffing for all he was worth and after the count of three, set his lip at trembling. "I didn't do anything!" he protested, his brown eyes filling with false tears of fear. "I swear! Another boy was running past me…I didn't do it!"

Wow…this guy really wasn't buying anything that Eugene was selling. The guard's face remained impassive as he stared down at Eugene, as though silently daring the boy to try and pull a fast one on him. Sighing in defeat, Eugene reached into his vest and pulled out the purse, dropping it into the guard's hand reluctantly. The sound of coins clinking together did not help make him feel better. That money would have fed him for a long time, and he probably could have still stashed some away somewhere to go towards his private life in the future.

"I thought so," the guard said in satisfaction, looking supremely pleased with himself. "It'll be the prison for you, boy. We don't take kindly to thieves in Corona."

Eugene sighed again and crossed his arms petulantly as the guard steered him along, still gripping the collar of Eugene's shirt tightly. Prison…the word was one that Eugene was very familiar with at this point, and he was a little surprised that the guard was taking a _kid_ there, even after the money was returned. Stupid guards, Eugene thought with a pout.

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_Eugene paused once more and glanced down at Rapunzel_, _who was looking up at him with an eagerness to hear the rest of the story reflected in her eyes_. _Smiling a little at the lovely Princess in his arms_, _Eugene sighed and leaned his head back against the headboard as he considered how to continue the story_.

"_What next_?" _Rapunzel pressed_.

"_Uh…well_, _first_, _I should warn you about something_, _Blondie_,"_ Eugene said slowly_. "_Before I met you…there was another girl_. _I met her on the day when I was first taken to the prison_, _all those months after Gothel took you_."

_For a moment_, _Rapunzel didn't seem to understand_, _and then her eyes widened in comprehension_. _Eugene watched with baited breath as she chewed thoughtfully at her lower lip_, _a look of mild hurt crossing her face_. _He winced to see that look in her eyes_, _but he said nothing_, _simply waiting for her to speak first_.

"_Was she pretty_?"

…_Of all the questions Eugene had expected_, _that had not been on the list_. _Frowning a little as he tried to remember_, _Eugene mentally reconstructed a face that only a few years ago he had been more familiar with than anything else_. _After careful consideration_, _he looked down at Rapunzel and smiled lovingly_.

"_Honestly_?" _he asked before kissing her forehead_. "_She wasn't half as pretty as you are_."

_That seemed to make Rapunzel feel better as she smiled softly up at him_. "_How did you meet her_?"

_Clearing his throat_, _Eugene shrugged before he continued_. "_Well…the prison wasn't as bad as I had been expecting_, _really…_"

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The prison wasn't as bad as Eugene had expected. Oh, sure, the walls were damp and there were still those annoying bars, but a little paint and the place wouldn't look too bad. With the guard still maintaining a death grip on the collar of his shirt, Eugene was propelled forward until his captor reached a cell near the end of the hall. Pushing Eugene into the cell, the guard sneered slightly as he locked the cell before storming off again.

Leaning against the bars that now kept him inside, Eugene sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes upwards until he was looking at the ceiling. He didn't really believe in any sort of higher power, but at this point Eugene was pretty sure that someone up there was having a laugh at his expense.

"So…what're you in here for?"

The voice surprised Eugene so much that he almost jumped a foot in the air, spinning around to face the speaker as he did so. It turned out that the person who had addressed him was a girl. She couldn't be more than eight, though she had a look about her similar to a young woman who had made her living on the streets; jaded and just a little disillusioned. An unusual look for a child so young. Her dark hair was worn in a long braid down her back and pale blue eyes seemed to pierce through Eugene as the girl stared intently at him. She would be pretty one day, with well-defined features and full lips that at this point made her look gaunt with a mouth too big for her face, and there was something about her that made Eugene like her right away, though he couldn't explain why.

"Picking a guy's pocket," he mumbled in answer to her question. "What 'bout you?"

The girl shrugged nonchalantly and managed a slight grin. "I was just minding my own business and some lady's purse just happened to fall into my hands."

That was the thing about her that Eugene had liked; she was cheeky, rather like him. Grinning back at her, Eugene leaned against the stone wall nearest him and looked the girl over once more. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Meira," the girl answered with a shrug. "Don't got a last name. You?"

For a moment, Eugene considered telling her his real name, but he decided against that. Eugene Fitzherbert was a stupid name anyway ("I _don't think so_!" _Rapunzel argued_), and she'd probably laugh at him for it if he did tell her. "Flynn," he said with pride. "Flynn Rider."

Meira's eyebrow arched a little as she considered his name and then she grinned broadly, revealing slightly crooked teeth. "I used to listen in when people read that book," she said. "What's your _real_ name?"

Eugene flushed to the roots of his hair, but he stubbornly kept his mouth closed. Meira noticed this and shrugged again, as though she couldn't care less, which was probably true. She eyed Eugene for a moment and then moved towards the cell door, glancing as far down the corridor as she could before turning to look at him again.

"Wanna get outta here?" she asked.

"How? They have the keys," Eugene pointed out, though he couldn't deny wanting to leave the prison already.

"Easy!" Meira said with a toothy grin. "I've escaped loads of times!"

Against his will, Eugene felt some grudging respect for this odd girl developing. If she had been able to escape, then maybe it wouldn't be too hard to get out of here. "How?" he repeated.

With a look of intense concentration, Meira reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked suspiciously like one of the hairpins Mrs. Miller had used to keep her hair in place. Eugene stared at it for a moment before looking at Meira in obvious confusion. Rolling her eyes a little, the girl knelt down in front of the door to their shared cell and inserted the hairpin in the lock. With keen interest, Eugene leaned forward so he could watch what she was doing. It looked as though she was simply wiggling the pin around without really knowing what she was doing, but in only a few more moments she stood up with a triumphant smirk and calmly pushed the door open.

"I told you," she said smugly as she led Eugene out of the cell.

Eugene didn't bother answering this statement as he followed her through the halls of the prison. It wasn't too hard for two children to keep out of sight of the guards, and soon they were once more on the streets of the city, both grinning like their birthdays had come early. Meira paused after they had left the prison well behind them and glanced around before saluting at Eugene.

"See ya," she said, starting to walk off.

"Where're you going?" Eugene demanded.

Meira paused and turned to look at him, shrugging. "Don't really know," she admitted. "Why?"

Eugene shrugged as well and then glanced around him. "I'm tired of this place. Wanna go find somewhere else to visit?"

A light of interest filled Meira's eyes as she seemed to consider this. After a moment of silence, she nodded and grinned at Eugene. "Sure. Let's go."

They set off without really thinking of where they were going or how they were going to survive, but they didn't really care. At least they weren't near a prison anymore.

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_Rapunzel was silent for a moment before she gave Eugene a questioning look_. "_How long were you and Meira together_?" _she asked slowly_.

"_I…don't really know_," _Eugene fibbed_, _feeling a little uncomfortable telling Rapunzel about Meira_. _The last thing he wanted was for Rapunzel to get jealous_, _and he and Meira had gotten pretty serious when they were older…maybe he should have stopped the story after telling Rapunzel about his _"_helping_" _to find the golden flower_. _That would have been so much easier for him to do rather than re_-_living certain memories_. "_A long time_," _he admitted when Rapunzel gave him a pointed look_. "_Up until I was about eighteen or so_."

"_Tell me about when you were older_," _Rapunzel said eagerly_. "_What was Meira like then_?"

_Oh for God's sake_, _Eugene thought_. _The last thing he wanted to be talking about with Blondie was his old flames_, _and he _definitely_ didn't want to be telling her about the most serious of those flames_. _Still…she was giving him that look he couldn't say no to_, _and it was starting to wear away at his resolve_. _Finally he sighed in defeat and gave Rapunzel a slightly irritated look_.

"_How much older_?"

_Rapunzel pondered this for a minute or two before she smiled sweetly_. "_When I was eight_," _she said confidently_. "_How old were you then_?"

"_Uh…about sixteen_," _Eugene said slowly_, _not quite sure where she was going with this_.

"_Then start when I was six and you were fourteen_," _Rapunzel instructed_, _still beaming at him as though he made the sun rise in the sky every morning_.

"_Okay…_" _Eugene agreed_, _though he still didn't know why she was going off of what age she had been at the time_. _Clearing his throat a little_, _Eugene pondered before continuing_.

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Author's Note: Okay, before people start throwing things at me for bringing in an OC that Flynn had a relationship with, I want to offer an explanation. I am a total Rapunzel/Flynn shipper, but there were eighteen years of Flynn's life where he didn't even know who Rapunzel was or that she existed. I figure that as the dashing Flynn Rider, he had at least one or two flings before meeting Rapunzel. With that idea in mind, my muse produced Meira before I could really protest, so here she is. But don't worry! She won't be in the story for too long. Like I said, I am totally in love with the Rapunzel/Flynn pairing and don't want to take away from that.

Also! Before people start pointing out that if Eugene was so familiar with the mosaic in the town square, why didn't he put two and two together upon meeting Rapunzel and figure out she was the Lost Princess, I have an explanation! He _was_ familiar with it, but it's another seventeen years before he meets Rapunzel and returns to the city. That's a long time, and his memory would have gone fuzzy on some details. And do remember, this story is being told by Eugene years and years after the fact, so he's only now putting things together that he wouldn't have when he first met Rapunzel. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Enjoy this newest chapter! REVIEW!

Oh, and Brownie points to anyone who can guess who the guard who arrested Eugene grows up to be in the film!


	8. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Seven

It had been five years since his first night in prison, and in that time Eugene Fitzherbert had really begun to make a name for himself in the criminal world of the Kingdom of Corona. Not alone, of course. Without Meira, he'd probably still be swallowing down the laughter of older thieves when he boasted about his skills and told them his pseudonym. Even now there were still a few people who would chuckle when he introduced himself as Flynn Rider. Meira didn't laugh anymore, thankfully, though for the first few weeks of their interesting partnership she would tease him about the false name, asking if he'd saved any beautiful ladies lately or if he'd scaled the highest tower to save his Lady love. It had gotten annoying very fast, and after a few scuffles that ended with more than one bloody lip for the both of them, Meira had agreed to stop taunting him about his name.

That didn't mean that Meira didn't still find his name amusing. There were times when Eugene would look at her and see a secretive smile on her face, as though she was laughing at a private joke. Those moments always drove him crazy, but he and Meira had come to a point in their…odd relationship where he could accept her silent jabs at his pride and she could accept that he simply wouldn't tell her everything about his past. After all, she hadn't explained how she had ended up in prison—multiple times if she was to be believed—by the age of eight.

Still, the last five years had been kind to them both; far kinder than they had expected. Eugene had sprouted up like a weed, standing at almost six feet tall already and starting to grow facial hair, though Meira pointed out with a laugh that at this point it was only fuzz. Meira, on the other hand, hadn't grown very much, remaining remarkably petite, despite her wiry frame. She still hadn't grown into her potential beauty, but her face was far less gaunt than it had looked when she and Eugene first met, and her mouth no longer looked too big for her face. Both of them managed to keep themselves well-fed through their combined thieving skills, so they weren't as thin as they would have been had they not been skilled pickpockets. They even managed to keep their clothes in relatively good repair, all things considered.

On this particular day, fourteen-year-old Eugene was looking through the windows of a well-stocked jeweler's store, his eyes fixed on one or two of the larger jewels. Meira, her dark hair still in that single long braid, stood beside him, her arms crossed over her chest, which was still as flat as the day they first met. Her pale eyes also scanned the jewels, but she didn't look at any one object for too long, simply taking in the wealth of options before them.

"Which one did he say he wanted?" she asked after a moment's silence.

"That one," Eugene answered, pointing at a large diamond, uncut and perfect. "Though why the guy wants us to steal it for him when he's rich enough to _buy_ it is beyond me."

"A lot of things are beyond you, Rider," Meira said without malice, grinning toothily up at her companion. "But we're not supposed to ask questions of the customer. We just get them what they want and go along on our merry way."

Eugene arched an eyebrow at the girl beside him, but didn't say anything in response. That was just how they worked together. Eugene was what Meira termed the "doubting Thomas" while she made little jokes and simply pushed him along until the job was done. It was a comfortable situation that had developed over the last two years. Not only did it prevent the two of them from constantly being at each other's throats, but it helped their "customers" take them more seriously. Meira was a talented actress, Eugene had discovered, and she could easily make anyone believe that they were actually far older than they looked and far more talented than they actually were. Even when Eugene was twelve and she eleven, she had been convincing various individuals who wanted items stolen for them that she and Eugene were the best thieves money could buy. Sometimes Eugene actually almost believed Meira's tall tales himself.

Smirking a little at the girl beside him, Eugene sighed and looked around them at the gathering crowd. This wasn't as big as the capitol city, but it was much bigger than the village Eugene had grown up in, so there were dozens of people in the town square. Now wouldn't be the ideal time to rob the store. Glancing at Meira, Eugene saw that she had reached the same conclusion. They nodded to one another and started making their way back through the crowd. The best time to go through with their job would be at night, when there were fewer people around to potentially spot them.

That night, the two teenagers were crouched on the roof of the shop, Meira working away at the tiles of the roof in an attempt to create a whole that was large enough for Eugene to slip through. It took them what felt like forever, but finally there was a whole that Eugene could go through with a rope tied around his middle. Checking the knot to ensure it was secure, the boy saluted sarcastically at Meira and started sliding through the whole in the roof. Meira braced herself against the chimney and, holding the rope tight in hand, began slowly lowering her partner down to the floor of the shop.

Inside, Eugene held onto the rope with one hand while the other worked at pulling out his satchel to put the diamond in it once he retrieved it. Smirking a little to himself as he was slowly lowered to the ground, Eugene crouched down once there was enough slack in the rope to do so, ensuring that no one was outside the shop windows before he stood up. This job was going to be almost too easy, he thought to himself as he slowly lifted the enormous diamond from its resting place on top of a large cushion. For a moment, he simply stood admiring the jewel before wrapping it up in a rag and stuffing it into his satchel. He was just about to lift a few other pieces of jewelry when he heard footsteps approaching from the back of the shop. Cursing softly, Eugene tugged urgently at the rope to let Meira know that he needed to be pulled up.

He heard a soft curse from Meira and gathered that she had also heard the approaching person. Wrapping the rope around his arm and gripping it tightly above his head, Eugene hastily placed the satchel's strap over his head as Meira began pulling him up, the sound of footsteps drawing closer.

"Damn…damn, damn, damn…" Eugene swore as the man who had been approaching appeared in the shop.

For a moment, the old shop owner looked too stunned by the sight of a fourteen-year-old boy rising up through his roof to notice that his largest diamond was missing. Then he started shouting.

"Thief! Thief! Someone call the guards!"

"Oh, damn it," Meira hissed when Eugene's head appeared above the roof, rushing over and pulling him up by his arms. "We have to get out of here."

"No kidding," Eugene muttered sarcastically, clambering up onto the roof and adjusting his satchel before untying the rope around his middle. "Come on!"

They grabbed one another's hands without really thinking about it, running along the roof top until they were looking down at the alley way beneath them. Releasing Meira's hand, Eugene threw his legs over the edge and began climbing down the wall, his thin fingers finding small handholds as he moved. After a moment's hesitation, Meira followed after him, gritting her teeth and swearing fluently under her breath.

"Come _on_," Eugene urged once his feet had touched the ground.

Looking down at him over her shoulder, Meira seemed to decide the hell with it and pushed away from the wall, falling the last few feet to the ground. She landed lightly on her feet and only took a moment to regain her breath as the sounds of armored men running towards them grew louder.

"Time to go," she declared.

Once more gripping one another's hands, they broke into a run, dodging through alleys and back streets, only pausing every now and then to let the soldiers that had been called for rush past them. Finally, they found themselves at the edge of town, moving in the general direction of where their client had told them to meet him. With one last glance at the town to ensure that they weren't being followed, Meira and Eugene broke into a run again, making for the forest surrounding the town. There at least, they could hide from the soldiers until the next day when they would make their way to the meeting with their latest customer.

Inside the trees, they released each other's hands and leaned back against the trunk of a particularly large oak, gasping for air. Meira was the first to recover and grinned at Eugene.

"Told you we could do it," she said smugly, reaching over to playfully punch him in the arm.

"You did not," Eugene said with a roll of his eyes, pulling his satchel up to get a look inside of it. "But you're right…we got it." He pulled out the diamond wrapped in fabric and held it up for Meira to see, grinning like a fool. "Wanna look at it?"

Without answering, Meira grabbed it out of his hand and unwrapped the fabric surrounding it. She gasped in awe at the sight of the diamond. While she might behave like a boy at times, Meira was still a girl who was susceptible to beautiful things. Grinning back at Eugene, she re-wrapped the diamond and handed it back to him.

"He better give us the promised price for that thing," she said firmly.

"Yeah," Eugene agreed. "Let's get some sleep."

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"_Who was the man you stole the diamond for_?" _Rapunzel asked curiously_.

"_We never found out his name_," _Eugene said with a shrug_. "_But he did give us the promised money_. _I barely spent any of my share…I was still saving it to get that island of mine for me and Edith_. _After that_, _we had a lot of different jobs…_"

_Rapunzel looked interested by this statement and snuggled closer to him_. "_Like what_?" _Then something else seemed to occur to her_. "_Did you and Meira…were you ever in love with her_?"

_Eugene winced at this question and sighed_. "_I thought I was_," _he admitted sheepishly_. "_But then I met you_." _Smiling in what he hoped was a charming fashion_, _he held Rapunzel close tot him_. "_But I don't want to talk about that right now…I think we should stop the story_—"

"_Oh_, _no_!" _Rapunzel insisted_. "_I want to hear more_."

"…Why?" _Eugene asked in confusion_. "_It's not that interesting anymore_…"

"I _think it is_," _Rapunzel said firmly_. "_Because it's about you_!"

"_So you want to know about my old girlfriends_?" _Eugene demanded_. "_It's not exactly something I enjoy talking about_, _Blondie_."

"_Please_?" _Rapunzel pleaded_, _giving him her most winning look_.

…_He'd been a bad influence on Blondie_, _Eugene decided_. _She'd gotten that act from him_, _after all_. _Rolling his eyes a little_, _Eugene sighed huffily_. "_Really_? Why?"

"_Because I said so_?" _Rapunzel tried_, _doing her best to still look charming_.

…_She was pulling the Princess card_. _Great_. _Now he _had_ to do it_. _Sighing with the air of a martyr_, _Eugene rolled his eyes_. "_Fine_," _he murmured_. "_What do you want to hear next_?"

_He dreaded the answer the minute he asked the question_, _and once she answered_, _he realized he had been right to dread it_.

"_Tell me about how you and Meira became a couple_."

Really? _What was it about this girl that she needed to know all about his past_? _And what was it about him that he was agreeing to tell her everything_? _Sighing heavily_, _Eugene muttered darkly under his breath before he started the story up again_.

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It was two years since the diamond heist, as Meira liked to call it. Eugene thought it was stupid to call a job anything like that, but she kept insisting on calling it that. Stupid girls, he thought. He really didn't understand anything about girls and why they kept naming things.

At the moment, Eugene was leaning against a tall tree watching as Meira finished giving her hair a trim. Not a very good one, as she was using her knife and not allowing him to get the back, but still a long-needed one. She'd been complaining about her hair for weeks, and finally Eugene had told her to just hack it all off already. Well…she'd taken him quite literally, it seemed.

Her long braid was gone, and Eugene had to admit that she looked very different without her hair. Not in a bad way, though. She'd really grown into her beauty in the last two years, going from scrawny to slender and with her face filling out nicely, along with other parts of her. Her eyes no longer looked too large for her face and her grin was no longer too wide. All in all, she had grown up rather nicely, even though she was still a good foot shorter than Eugene.

He had thought he had stopped growing when he was fifteen, but apparently not. Now he stood at over six feet, and a part of him was sure that he wasn't done growing yet. And the "fuzz" that Meira insisted was still all his facial hair was had started to fill out a little. Eugene liked to think that he had also become quite ruggedly handsome, but he couldn't exactly depend on Meira to give him a dependable answer about whether or not he actually was. All she did was tease him whenever he did ask her anything about his appearance. Oh, well. There were plenty of girls in the various villages and towns that they passed through who were very impressed with him.

Eugene's thoughts were interrupted as Meira stood up, shaking out her now shoulder-length hair to see if she had missed any of it. She hadn't, though it was still very lopsided, particularly in the back. "How do I look?" she asked, once more flashing him her toothy grin.

She looked rather nice, actually. The shorter hair wouldn't be in the way as much and it did frame her face nicely enough. Still, Eugene wasn't about to admit that to her. "You look like someone tried to gnaw your hair off," he said with his own lopsided grin.

Meira only rolled her eyes in response, but Eugene could swear he saw a look of disappointment on her face. Why was beyond him, of course. He would never understand girls. Not even if he lived to be a million years old.

"Come on," he added, looking over his shoulder to ensure that they hadn't been discovered. "We have a new customer to meet, remember?"

"I always remember when we have work," Meira said rather flippantly. "It means we get a decent meal. We'd have more of those if you weren't always hording your share."

Eugene rolled his eyes. This was a common argument between the two of them. She always wanted to spend all their money and Eugene continued putting aside a small amount here and there for when they would either really need it or for when he could finally buy that secluded island for him and Edith. "Well we'd have more money for food if you didn't spend all your share right away."

Meira only responded by wrinkling her nose at him slightly as she walked past him. As she did so, Eugene couldn't help noticing that Meira really had developed quite well in the last two years…

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_Eugene paused again_, _this time from embarrassment_. _He _really_ didn't want to be the one who had to tell Rapunzel about his first real…well girlfriend_, _really_, _as he was now fairly sure he'd never been in love with Meira_. _Then there was the whole issue of trying to downplay just how…intimate his relationship with Meira had become in the two years they had together. For one thing_, _he was worried that Rapunzel would get jealous_, _which was the last thing he wanted for her_, _and for another_, _he blushed to just think about those months spent with Meira_.

_Rapunzel looked up at him questioningly and Eugene cleared his throat self_-_consciously_. "_Right…_" _he muttered under his breath_. "_Uh…so…we went and did that job_, _and then Meira and I got drinks to celebrate_. _We had a few too many and…well…we sort of kissed…_"

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It was not just a kiss, Eugene decided. This was way too passionate to be just a kiss, as Meira pressed herself firmly against him, one hand tugging at his vest and the other on the table to steady them both. For a moment, Eugene's sluggish mind couldn't quite put together what he was supposed to do. Then he finally seemed to comprehend and returned the kiss firmly, not entirely sure what he was doing.

Neither of them knew what they were doing, really, but that didn't stop them from stumbling back to the room they had rented for the night and falling onto Eugene's bed in a tangle of gangly limbs. The rest of the night was a haze to Eugene—partly the alcohol's fault and partly the fault of Meira—but when he woke up to find Meira' wrapped in his arms, he wasn't too surprised by it. After all, he could _definitely_ remember the kiss that started it all.

Turning over lazily, Meira met Eugene's gaze with a slight twitch of her lips. "So," she said with a teasing light in her eyes. "I guess the great Flynn Rider's found one way to live up to the name."

Eugene rolled his eyes and scoffed. Even now, when they were both undressed and curled up together, she couldn't be entirely serious. Not that he had expected anything less. She wasn't the sort to take much of anything seriously. He'd thought he'd gotten used to it, but apparently he hadn't.

"Let's not have that talk again," he mumbled under his breath, still too tired to care much at this point.

"If you say so, Rider," Meira replied with a shrug, moving to lie flat on her back so that she could look up at the ceiling above her. "What's our next move?"

Ever-impatient, Eugene thought with a sigh. "I dunno," he admitted. "We can always line up another job while we're here. They seem to have plenty of people willing to pay to get something, even if it's not in the most law-abiding way."

Meira nodded. "Sounds like a plan. After breakfast."

And with that, she rolled over and went right back to sleep, leaving Eugene with his own thoughts for company.

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Author's Note: Whoo! Longest chapter so far! Next we'll find out how Flynn met the Stabbingtons. I won't be getting rid of Meira for another couple of chapters, so bear with me. I know that at least some of my readers aren't fond of her, and while I'll admit that she's not my favorite of my OCs, I just ask you hold on a little longer. She'll be gone _long_ before Flynn steals the crown.


	9. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: If I honestly owned _Tangled_, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it. Still waiting for that DVD to come out. Oh, and I think my brother's plotting to get me a Rapunzel Barbie for my birthday.

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Chapter Eight

_Eugene was grateful that Rapunzel hadn't asked for more details about his relationship with Meira_. _If she had_, _he would've stopped telling the story right then and there_,_ because_ _there wasn't a chance in hell that he was going to just start telling Rapunzel the sordid details of his love life before meeting her_. _Still_, _there was more to the story and Eugene wasn't about to hope that Rapunzel was really asleep and would forget all about it by the time she woke up_.

"_When did you meet the Stabbingtons_?"

_Eugene hated it when he was right_. _Groaning a little as he thought about that particularly unpleasant meeting_, _his expression soon changed as he chuckled darkly_. "_Not long after that_. _I was eighteen and Meira was seventeen when we met them…_"

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Meira had truly become a spectacular beauty as she grew older. Gone was the gaunt and scrawny girl that Eugene had first met. Now, her body had filled out nicely and her mouth was the perfect size for her face. She'd let her hair grow out again after that first rather horrific attempt at cutting it, and Eugene had to admit that he preferred her with her hair in that familiar long braid. Her eyes still held that delightfully devious light in them, and there was no way that anyone could mistake Meira for a fine Lady with how strong she was built and how calloused her hands were.

Eugene had also truly become a handsome young man. His facial hair could now be termed such, and not even Meira could argue that point anymore. In the past two years, Eugene had stopped growing and now towered above Meira. He had also become much more comfortable in his Flynn Rider persona, which Meira teased him about even now. Not that the teasing bothered him anymore. Such things didn't trouble anyone like Flynn Rider, and he gave just as good as he got these days. Not to mention how easily he had slipped into the flirtatious aspect of his persona. It was rather fulfilling to finally fit the name that he had given himself all those years ago.

"Where to next, oh great and handsome Flynn Rider?" Meira asked, smirking a little at him.

Honestly. Nine years and she still couldn't take him seriously for calling himself Flynn Rider. Rolling his eyes a little at her, Eugene shrugged before answering.

"I hear there's some work in a town not too far from the capitol. Maybe we can finally get enough money to retire," he suggested with a slight quirk of his eyebrows.

Meira knew that look well after two years of sharing her companion's bed. Snorting loudly, she shook her head and elbowed him playfully. "In your dreams, Rider," she said with a chuckle. "There isn't any such thing as a retired thief who can maintain a good lifestyle honestly. You and me…we've got no chance at ever seeing that island you want so bad."

Eugene shrugged a little and buried his hands in his pockets, his long strides forcing Meira to take three smaller steps to keep up with him. "It's a nice thought," he said vaguely.

And at the moment, he knew that was all it was; a pretty dream, a pleasant thought. Still, there was something about it that kept him going. Perhaps it was the idea of seeing Edith again and taking her away from all the suffering she'd had to put up with in her life. He'd been back to the village where he grew up once or twice, just to see how she was doing, and she seemed to be fine, but Eugene knew what it was like to live that life and always act like nothing was wrong. For all he knew, Edith could be abused by the older children every day, and never show any sign of it. That was why he wanted to get her away from that life. The other part of why he clung to the dream of retiring to some island that he owned was because he enjoyed the idea of keeping Meira around. He didn't try to convince himself that he was in love with his partner, but he did like having her around. Maybe he was a little in love with her, but nothing too serious, and that way they could keep their relationship the way it had been for the last two years without too many complications.

Still…at this point, it was only a dream. A nice dream, but nothing more. Maybe in about twenty more years it would be possible, but by then Edith would probably be married and that would leave Eugene all alone with Meira, provided they were still partners at that point. Oh well. If Eugene had learned anything, it was to just let the future play itself out.

"So this town we're going to," Meira's voice broke through his thoughts. "How big is it?"

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"_So _that_ was why your dream was to have an island_," _Rapunzel commented with a slight yawn_. "_I thought it was just because you didn't like people_."

"_Well_, _that too_," _Eugene admitted_, _smiling a little at the way the Princess was yawning_. "_You getting tired_, _Blondie_? _Maybe we should pause for the night_…"

"_No…_" _Rapunzel protested as she curled up against Eugene_. "_I want to hear how you met the Stabbingtons before I go to sleep_."

_Talk about stubborn_, _Eugene thought with a slight smile_. "_Okay_, _okay_," _he muttered_. "_Well…we got into the town and started looking for a job_, _but what we didn't know was that someone else was already doing the same thing as us…_"

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Eugene didn't notice the two hulking figures at first. He was too busy leaning close to the window of the small shop that seemed to contain the only items of any value in this town. Not much to speak of, really, but not too shabby considering the size of the town. There'd been better stuff to steal at his father's manor house, but Eugene wasn't about to set foot inside of that place if he could help it, so for now this pitiful show of jewelry and a little extra gold would have to do.

That was when he noticed the two large figures. They were kind of hard to miss when their faces were mirrored in the window Eugene was looking at. Blinking a little as he took in this sight, Eugene swallowed hard and forced himself to remain calm.

They were clearly brothers—possibly twins, but Eugene wasn't going to assume anything—as they had the same blunt features, red hair and blue eyes. One had a patch over his left eye and the other had a scar along his chin, which were the only two ways to tell them apart from one another. They were enormous, too, towering over Flynn, who was by no means a short man. Swallowing again, Eugene slowly turned to look up—_way_ up—at his two new acquaintances.

"Can I help you gentlemen with anything?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible, which was surprisingly rather convincing, even to Eugene's ears.

"We hear you've been looking for work here," the man with two eyes said, his voice gravelly and deep. "And not of the legal kind either."

…Okay. So who were these clowns? For a brief moment, Eugene wished Meira was there for him to talk to about what to do, but then he remembered that he was supposed to be Flynn Rider. Eugene Fitzherbert might feel intimidated by these gorillas, but Flynn Rider laughed in their faces.

…Figuratively speaking, Eugene thought as he once more took in just how…_large_ these two were.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he said flippantly, which he was rather impressed he could pull off at this point, since he really was fairly intimidated by these two. "What does that matter to two such…" he paused and eyed the two men with a frown. "…Er…fine gentlemen as yourselves?"

Apparently his choice of words had confused the two brutish men, as they exchanged nonplussed glances. Eugene mentally smiled to himself at this and fought down the urge to chuckle out loud. He liked being in one piece, after all, and Meira would tear him apart for getting into any sort of trouble without her. So, Eugene kept his lips sealed shut and gave the two redheaded men his most charmingly innocent look.

"It matters to us," the two-eyed brother said with a sneer, looking very much like he wanted to throttle Eugene, "'cause we got here first. We're the ones who're working this town."

"Clearly," Eugene said dryly, his lips quirking up in a sarcastic smile. "Well, I don't see why we can't share. This isn't a very small town, after all, and if we both just go our own way, then I don't see why we need to have any arguments about territory in the future—"

Eugene was cut off by the brother with the eyepatch grabbing hold of his vest and tugging him forward until he was staring into three very frightening blue eyes. But he didn't let them see how nervous he was, simply arching an eyebrow, even though he was shaking with fear on the inside.

"You wanna watch your mouth, kid," the brother with the scar snarled. "Or we're gonna have to shut it for you."

"Sure you are," Meira's voice said from somewhere behind Eugene.

Relief flooded through Eugene as the one-eyed brother released him out of surprise. Stepping back hastily, Eugene dusted himself off and flashed Meira a grateful look before turning his attention back to the two brothers.

"Right…we'll be seeing you two around," he said cheerily, guiding Meira away from the redheaded men.

"Who were those two clowns?" Meira asked in an undertone as they walked off.

"The welcoming committee," Eugene replied sarcastically. "Come on…let's just work out our next job."

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"_Did you see the Stabbingtons again while you were in that town_?"

_Rapunzel was so clearly tired_, _but she refused to go to sleep like any sane person would have by now_, _Eugene noted with a smile that was half_-_exasperated and half_-_amused_.

"_Yeah…sadly_, _we did_," _he muttered_. "_But that can wait until tomorrow_. _You're starting to nod off_, _Blondie_," _he pointed out when Rapunzel opened her mouth to protest_. "_Come on…I promise I'll finish the story tomorrow_."

_She was too tired to argue_,_ so Rapunzel simply nodded her agreement and closed her eyes_, _letting sleep finally claim her_. _Sighing in relief_, _Eugene chuckled a little to himself before he joined her, closing his eyes with a slight yawn_.

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Author's Note: Quick filler chapter is quick!

Good God are the Stabbingtons hard for me to get a grasp of. Unlike Rapunzel, Flynn, and even Gothel, I don't know enough about the Stabbingtons—or want to, for that matter—to write them well. That dialogue between them and Eugene was almost painful for me to write, I was so afraid of screwing up. Oh, well, it's done and I am going back to my latest AU fic to get the Stabbingtons out of my brain for a while!

Reviews are love! Do remember that. Oh, and the conflict will really start up in the next chapter. Meira won't be with us much longer, but I leave it to you to guess how she will leave us. That should keep all your minds a-spinning with ideas. Mwahaha. Good night all!


	10. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: If I owned _Tangled_, we would have seen a flashback with child!Eugene. Sadly, I do not own either _Tangled_ or Eugene. Just Edith and Meira.

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Chapter Nine

_Eugene woke up to see Rapunzel smiling expectantly at him_, _which earned a groan from Eugene as he buried his face in his pillow_. _It was way too early for him to be delving into his past again_. _Turning over so that he was lying flat on his back_, _Eugene sighed in exasperation_.

"_Right…_" _he muttered under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair_. "_Where did I leave off_?"

"_You'd met the Stabbington brothers_," _Rapunzel supplied for him_, _snuggling closer and resting her head on his shoulder_.

"_Yeah…Stabbingtons…right_," _Eugene muttered_. "_So…Meira and I found a job to do_, _but it didn't really go the way we had planned for it to_."

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Meira eyed the building in front of them, frowning a little. This was not exactly something that the two young thieves were used to doing. It was a bit more difficult than the diamond heist would be, because they couldn't really go in through the roof. They would have to go in through the door, and that was never something that Meira or Eugene would choose to do if they could help it. Still, there was no avoiding it this time.

"I swear…these people keep getting smarter," she muttered, glancing over at Eugene. "I hate it when they do that."

"Yeah, I know you do," Eugene said with a sigh. "Come on, let's just get this job done with, shall we?"

Arching an eyebrow at Eugene, Meira smirked a little at him as she knelt down in front of the door, closely inspecting the lock. It wasn't very complex, but it still took a little longer to unlock than she had expected it would. Perhaps she should practice her lock picking skills a little more. Rolling her eyes a little as she continued working at picking the lock, Meira finally managed a smile of triumph as the door swung open in front of her.

"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing, let's go," Eugene muttered under his breath, pushing Meira forward urgently. "We don't want to hang around outside for too long."

Rolling her eyes at her friend as she entered the building, Meira muttered a few choice words as she followed Eugene. The building in question was something very similar to a bank in a larger city, but as this was such a small town, this wouldn't have as much money as they could wish for. Still, it would be better than nothing and feed them for at least a little longer. Pulling off the gloves that he was wearing, Eugene made his way over to the small door in the wall that would lead to the money. Frowning a little in concentration, he examined the door carefully before turning to Meira.

"Okay…got the—" he started to say.

His voice trailed off when he saw the two figures standing behind Meira, one of which had his hand tightly gripping her shoulder. It was the same pair of redheaded brothers from earlier. Eugene hadn't been afraid of them when he first saw them, but now…it was an entirely different matter. Swallowing harshly, he tried to keep himself steady, but it wasn't exactly a very easy task.

"Well, nice to meet you two gentlemen again," he said with what he hoped was a charming smile. It probably wasn't, though, judging from the look that Meira was giving him. "Do I even want to know why you two are bothering us while we work?"

"We already told you," the brother with the scar said with a sneer. "This is our town, not yours."

"Funny, didn't see your name on it anywhere," Eugene said with a chuckle.

Meira gave him a dark look and shook her head ever so slightly. Eugene didn't bother to pay attention to that. He enjoyed having her somewhat alive, after all. Still standing straight, he met the gaze of the two brothers' evenly, though he certainly didn't feel that brave. The two brothers seemed to notice this, as the one with the eye patch smiled in a very unpleasant manner, gripping Meira's shoulder tighter.

"Then I guess you weren't looking hard enough," the scarred brother snarled. "We're giving you one last chance. Get out of this town before we force you to."

"Sorry, fellas," Eugene said, crossing his arms with a smirk. "I don't respond well to threats. So I recommend that you get out of here if you know what's good for you."

This just earned a dark laugh from the two brothers, and Eugene began regretting his smartass comments. Still, he'd already gotten himself into this mess, he might as well try and get them both out of it.

"Big talk for such a little kid," the clearly older brother sneered. "Wonder if you'd still be talking so big when we start hurting your pretty little friend here," he added, pulling out a knife and pressing the blade against Meira's neck.

Meira froze with a sharp inhalation and stiffened slightly at the feeling of cold steel against her neck. Her eyes met Eugene's in fear and for a brief moment Eugene felt as though his heart had stopped. She was going to die if he wasn't careful.

"You won't hurt her," he said with confidence he didn't feel.

"Sure we won't," the redhead said with a sneer, pressing the edge of the blade against Meira's neck so hard so that he drew blood. "Now…are you going to back out of this or not?"

Eugene and Meira's eyes met for a moment and the girl nodded firmly, her eyes closing in acceptance. She wanted Eugene to just let her die. Why would she want something like that? Frowning at this, Eugene started to protest, but she shook her head firmly at him, her eyes opening and staring right at him.

"Don't think so, guys," Eugene finally said with a frown. "See…I kinda need you to both walk away so we can get on with our work."

"Sorry. Not gonna happen."

Before Eugene could stop it, Meira's body had slumped to the floor, her throat slit and blood pooling around her body. With an inarticulate cry of rage, Eugene leaped at the two brothers, willing to fight them off with his bare hands if he had to. Sadly, that was not possible as he found himself calmly thrown back against the wall. Stars danced in front of his eyes and Eugene groaned in pain as he tried to keep himself conscious. Sadly, it failed miserably and he felt his grip on the waking world slipping.

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"_I'm so sorry_, _Eugene_," _Rapunzel said quietly_, _snuggling closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist_.

"_What about_?" _Eugene asked_, _genuinely surprised as he hugged her back_, _his mind still eight years in the past_.

"_That you had to watch Meira die_,"_ Rapunzel explained_, _her expression serious_. _After all_, _she did know what it was like to watch someone she cared for die_. "_How did you start working with the brothers_?"

_Eugene sighed and sat up hastily_. "That_ is a story for another time_, _Blondie_," _he said firmly_. "_We have breakfast and then lessons to get to_."

_Rapunzel looked a little disappointed by this as she also sat up_, _but she didn't argue_. _Eugene did have a point_. _Besides_, _this was probably a very painful subject for him_.

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Author's Note: Wow…long time since I updated this. But I can't say that I'm surprised by this. I knew I wanted the Stabbingtons to kill Meira, I just couldn't bring myself to write it out. Like I mentioned in my last AN, those brothers are ridiculously hard for me to write. I just don't _like_ getting into their headspace. It's not a pleasant space to be in. *shudder* Really not pleasant.

But! I'm getting close to the end of this story. I figure I'll have Eugene explain how it was that he got to be working with the Stabbingtons, then I'll finish up the story. And then I can start posting my newest AU story. I already have two and a half chapters written for it, so we'll see how that goes. And don't worry! I'm working on the next chapter for _Let Your Power Shine_. Again, remember to review!


	11. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Ten

_Eugene found Rapunzel waiting for him in their room and arched an eyebrow_. _On the bright side_, _she wasn't tackling him and demanding that he finish the story_. _On the flip side…she wasn't tackling him and demanding that he finish the story_. _Why wasn't she doing that_? _Walking over to stand beside her_, _Eugene bent down and softly kissed her cheek_.

"_Hello_, _beautiful_," _he murmured softly_. "_What's wrong_?"

"_Nothing's wrong_," _she replied_, _though Eugene wasn't buying it for a moment_. "_I was just…thinking about your story_." _Looking up at him with those beautiful big green eyes_, _she smiled a little and took his hand in hers_. "_If you don't want to tell me the rest_, _I don't mind_. _I know enough about your childhood_. _And you _did_ keep your promise to tell me about when you were little_."

_A part of Eugene was relieved at this, but he wasn't about to let her know that_. _She'd been so eager to hear his story that he couldn't help feeling a little like a heel for not telling her the entire story_. _Smiling down at her_, _he brought her hand up to his lips and knelt down beside her_.

"_Hey…if you want to hear more_, _then I won't say no_."

_Smiling brightly at that_, _Rapunzel threw her arms around his neck and kissed him firmly_. "_Then_…_I'd at least like to know how you began working with the Stabbingtons_._ Then you don't have to tell me anymore_."

Thank God, _Eugene thought to himself_. _He wasn't about to go into any details about his thieving with the Stabbingtons_. _Those were times he would rather forget_, _personally_. _He was a changed man now_, _after all_.

"_Well…_" _he said slowly_.

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Eugene had never been this angry before. Meira was dead, and he'd just let it happen. Sure, he'd talked tough, but he hadn't tried to save her. Now those two brothers were out there somewhere, and he had to make them pay for what they'd done.

Of course, he was still just eighteen and still a little scrawny. Compared to the two brothers, he was just a little shrimp who they could probably break in half without trying. So he'd have to be smart about it. Maybe wait a couple years before tracking them down. Though…since he had no idea where they were at this point, it would probably take that long to track them down anyway. That was probably more than likely anyway, so he would have to plan for that.

In the end, he was just a few years off. Instead of two years to track them down, it took him four. And even then, he couldn't be sure that it was them at first. He heard rumors of a pair of brothers who were doing various thieving jobs in various cities of the kingdom, but Eugene never saw them himself. He was starting to lose hope that he would ever find them when it finally happened.

It had been four years, and so Eugene had filled out quite nicely—"_If I may say so myself_."—but he was probably still no match for the two brothers. That being the case, he decided to go about this in a more stealthy way than anything else. The last thing that he wanted, for one thing, was for them to realize who he was until it was too late for them to do anything about it. He wanted to get into their group and then make them pay for what they did to Meira. The pain and anger at her death had died down somewhat, but Eugene still felt far too responsible to just let it lie. Those two were going to get what was coming to them, one way or another.

When he did finally find them, it was in an old tavern in one of the larger cities of Corona. They were still as large and hulking as Eugene remembered, and for a moment or two he debated just turning around and never coming back again. At least then he would still be in one piece, and not spread all over the kingdom. Then he thought of that night, four years ago, when the younger of the two brothers had sliced Meira's throat, and while the anger was not as great as it had once been, Eugene found himself making his way towards the two redheads. Before he could come to his senses, he had already pulled up a chair at their table and was grinning in his typical "Flynn Rider" manner.

Naturally, both of the brothers were looking at him as though he'd lost his mind, but they didn't seem to recognize him just yet. For that, Eugene was grateful. He'd changed a bit in the last four years, and clearly that was enough to prevent these brothers from recognizing him. And they had never learned his name before, which would also be a point in his favor. The one thing that wouldn't be helpful to him would be the fact that he didn't know these brothers' names.

"Hi, there," he said, as though he were simply asking for the time.

They still looked at him like he was insane, and a part of Eugene had to agree with them. What was he doing, anyway? Sitting here and chatting with two murderers as though this were something he did every day. Still, he kept his smile intact and waited for the brothers to make the next move.

"…What're you doing over here?" the older brother finally asked.

"Figured that the two of you looked like my kind of folks," Eugene replied lightly. "Catch my drift? I'm looking for a pair of men to take on as partners in crime, so to speak."

Eugene couldn't believe what he was saying. And yet, it seemed to interest at least the younger of the two brothers. That might be a good thing, if it got them to agree to this insane plan that Eugene had just come up with on the spot. Keeping his expression bland, he waited.

"Not interested," the older brother said firmly.

"Now, is that any way to treat a potential partner?" Eugene asked with an arch of his eyebrow. "I don't even know your names."

"Stabbington."

Eugene waited for the two-eyed brother to provide first names, but he didn't. Shrugging a little at this, he nodded. "Stabbington. Got it. My name's Rider." He held out a hand to the two of them. "Flynn Rider."

Not book fans, Eugene decided when neither brother reacted to his name. Another thing to be relieved about, he supposed. Still, neither brother had made a move to accept his outstretched hand. Not something to be pleased about. Waiting with baited breath, Eugene almost sighed in relief when the older brother accepted his hand.

"Guess we're open to doing business with you, Rider."

"Good," Eugene said honestly. "That will be just fine with me."

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"_So you kept working with them_?" _Rapunzel asked quietly_.

"_All the time looking for the perfect opportunity to betray them_, _yeah_," _Eugene said quietly_. "_And then I met you and got rid of them for good_."

_A soft smile crossed Rapunzel's face as she looked up at Eugene_. _They were both silent for a long moment before she spoke again, carefully lacing her fingers through his_.

"_I'm glad you met them_," _she said firmly_. "_If you hadn't_, _then we wouldn't have met and I'd still be in that tower with Mo—with Gothel_."

_Eugene wrapped his arms tightly around her at that thought and held her close_. _He couldn't stand the idea of never having met this beautiful girl and never knowing what it was like to love her_. _Kissing the top of her head tenderly_, _he smiled down at her_.

"_When you put it that way…I guess I'm glad I met them_, _too_."

_Rapunzel laughed quietly and snuggled closer to him_. "_How does the story end_?"

_Chuckling to himself_, _Eugene lightly rubbed her back_. "_Well…I met this beautiful Princess_, _and she said that she would marry me_, _and we're living happily ever after_."

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Author's Note: *flop* It's DONE! *twitches for a few minutes* Is it a lame chapter? Most likely. Do I care at this point? *long pause* Nope. Not at all. I mean, I love this story to death, but my muse for it was being such a dork. Well! At last it's done, and I can turn my full attention to my other Tangled stories! Does this mean that new AU will be coming soon?

…Probably, yes. But I won't give you any details! Reviews are love, and thanks for sticking with this one!


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